Braves' Drake Baldwin may not have enough to dethrone Shohei Ohtani

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin is off to a scorching hot start and is on pace to have a historic season. Still, it may not be enough to help Baldwin take down the reigning National League MVP, two-way star Shohei Ohtani. 

Drake Baldwin is off to a scorching hot start for the Braves

Baldwin is the National League's reigning Rookie of the Year after hitting .274 with a .810 OPS and 19 home runs in 124 games. 

Playing in every single one of the Braves' 13 games in 2026, Baldwin has batted .321 with an OPS of 1.012 and is leading the Major Leagues in home runs (five). The 25-year-old is also MLB’s RBI leader (15) and runs leader (12). 

Baldwin has been a little shaky behind the plate from an advanced metric standpoint (-17 defensive runs saved). But he has a perfect fielding percentage (1.000) and has made zero errors behind the dish. 

Drake Baldwin may suffer the same fate as Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh

Having the reigning National League MVP to take down — Ohtani has won three straight MVPs (one with the Los Angeles Angels) — Baldwin’s bat and status as a catcher could help him.

According to Braves beat writer Chad Bishop, Baldwin is on pace (if he stays healthy) to hit 62 home runs and 187 RBI. Despite a small sample size of games, Baldwin could likely be a candidate or take down Ohtani for the National League MVP award, given that he’s doing this as a catcher.