The Braves not playing Drake Baldwin every day is a moronic process

The NL Rookie of the Year race is going to come down to the wire, with Braves star catcher Drake Baldwin regaining pole position, but only by an ever so slight margin.

According to DraftKings, Baldwin is now listed as a -110 favorite, with Cubs rookie Cade Horton right behind him at +130 and Brewers standout Isaac Collins falling behind pretty considerably at +500.

Collins dropping by so much in the span of a week is a bit of a head-scratcher. On August 25th, he was listed at +180, ahead of Drake Baldwin, who was listed at +240. Collins probably isn’t getting enough love, making that price look especially juicy. With a big month of September, he could easily win the award.

The recent surge of Cade Horton also doesn’t make a ton of sense. On August 16th, he was a staggering  +1100 to win the award, but less than 10 days later, he was the favorite. Now, he sits right behind Drake Baldwin in what the odds suggest is a two-man race headed towards the finish line.

Horton is having a very solid season, posting a 2.92 ERA over 98.2 innings, but his 3.80 FIP suggests he’s benefitted from a very fortunate start to his career. He’s also only striking out 7.4 batters per nine innings, and his 1.1 WAR is less than half of Drake Baldwin’s 2.7 WAR.

If Horton wins the award, it’s nothing more than favoritism to a big market team that’s finally competitive after a lengthy rebuild. There’s no reason he should really be in the conversation.

However, none of this would even be a discussion if the Braves would stop playing games with Drake Baldwin. He’s the best catcher on the team and is still sitting way too often. It was somewhat understandable earlier in the year, but getting Baldwin more reps and ensuring he wins the NL Rookie of the Year award so the team nets an extra draft pick should be a top priority.

Drake Baldwin is the better player and a strong finish to the season could really help the Braves’ future. Not playing him every single day the rest of the way is a moronic process.