Among the game’s best, Braves’ Drake Baldwin continues to prove he belongs

Within the first 10 months of his MLB career, Drake Baldwin has been named the National League Rookie of the Year and started in the All-Star Game.

Not bad for a relatively unheralded third-round draft pick four years ago.

“I haven’t wrapped my head around it at all,” Baldwin said Monday. “It’s kind of crazy. I’ve tried (to think about it), and I don’t think I’ve really succeeded. Three years ago, I never would have really thought I was in this position. But just kind of taking it day by day. It worked out, which has been really cool, so I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

His first All-Star Game on Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia was mostly uneventful, save for the experience of catching Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez and watching the American League score three runs off the lefty in the first inning. Baldwin was behind the plate for three innings as NL pitchers Sánchez, Eduardo Rodríguez of the Diamondbacks and Riley O’Brien of the Cardinals combined to throw 55 pitches.

Baldwin got one at-bat, a one-out showdown with the Royals’ Michael Wacha in third inning. Baldwin saw a strike, fouled off a pitch, then put the bat on his shoulder and slowly walked back to the dugout after a called third strike.

But the results and the action on the field were second to the experience for Baldwin, who was sincerely present in the moment during the two days of All-Star Game activities.

His mother, Bridgette Baldwin, was his plus-one and walked the red carpet with him before Tuesday’s exhibition. He said he caught glimpses of her during the game and “it looked like she had a smile on her face the whole time as well.”

Baldwin was smiling, too, because of the opportunity to be among the game’s best, some of whom were first-timers like himself and others who should end up in Cooperstown.

“Just sharing a clubhouse with some future Hall of Famers is pretty crazy,” he said. “Just getting to kind of like pick their brain and get to know them. Some of the guys have had some pretty incredible careers, so you’re still trying to work up to some of those. But, yeah, it’s pretty cool to know that you share a locker room and shared an All-Star experience with them.”

The 25-year-old was chosen for the All-Star Game mostly because of his torrid start to the season. He was hitting .303 with an OPS of .931 before an oblique injury put him on the injured list for the first time in his career.

He returned and endured the worst slumps of his young career, going 0-for-36 during one stretch. He struck out four times June 26 in San Diego and was despondent that night, a low point in a pro career that had otherwise been gravy.

The offense, however, doesn’t stay down for long for Baldwin, whose swing and approach are facets of his game his teammates envy and Braves coaches rave about. Thus, his defense is oft overlooked, yet that’s part of his game that continues to impress as well.

“For being a young guy, he’s done an incredible job. I say it a lot, he prepares really well, and he just he just makes you feel comfortable back there,” Braves’ left-handed ace Chris Sale said. “I know because he hits so well, the focus is on that, but I mean, I think if you really paid attention to him behind the plate, you’d be impressed.