Missouri State Professional Athletes

Drake Baldwin, Front and Center in Atlanta's Push

Drake Baldwin is no longer just a name on the roster — the Missouri State product is earning his spot in the Braves lineup every night, and his September has made that case loudly.

The Atlanta catcher capped the week with a defining performance Saturday against Miami, going 3-for with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored in an 8-3 Braves win. It was the kind of game that quiets doubters and earns trust in a manager's office during the most important weeks of the season. His batting average settled at .284 on the day — a number that would look respectable at any point in the year, let alone September.

The week wasn't without turbulence. After a quiet Friday night in Atlanta's 3-0 loss to the Marlins, the Braves made a notable lineup adjustment involving Baldwin — a sign that manager Brian Snitker is paying close attention to matchups and production at catcher as the team navigates a tight stretch run. That kind of accountability can go two ways for a young player; Baldwin answered by going off the next day.

The week also featured Baldwin slotted directly around Ronald Acuña Jr. in the order. When Acuña returned from a brief injury scare — he fouled a ball off his knee against Cincinnati and missed just one game — the star outfielder slid back into the two-hole, batting between Baldwin and Matt Olson. For a Missouri State catcher to be bookending one of baseball's premier talents in a meaningful September lineup is not a sentence that writes itself lightly.

Baldwin also had multi-hit efforts on Tuesday (2-for, plus a walk) and Thursday (2-for with a run) against Cincinnati, showing the kind of week-long consistency that goes beyond a single highlight. He logged hits in four of the six games in which he appeared during the period.

Burger Stays Hot in Texas

Jake Burger gave Missouri State fans something to watch in Arlington as well. The Rangers first baseman homered in Saturday's first game against Minnesota — part of a 6-2 Texas win — finishing the day 1-for with an RBI and a run. He also went deep on Sunday against Toronto, a 2-for game with two RBI, a run, and a walk in a loss. Burger's average sat at .230–.233 throughout the week, but his power numbers continue to justify his spot in the lineup.

Johnson Pitches in for Cincinnati

Pierce Johnson made two appearances out of the Cincinnati bullpen — striking out one over an inning Friday against Toronto, then fanning two over an inning Wednesday against Atlanta. He finished the week with a 4.62 ERA. Neither outing was decisive, but Johnson's continued presence on an MLB roster as a Missouri State alum is notable in its own right.

---

The bigger picture: Baldwin is the headline, and rightfully so. A catcher batting .284 with legitimate lineup decisions being made around his performance — batting alongside Acuña in a September pennant race — is a career-defining stretch. Bears fans have a reason to tune into Braves games this week.

Two Missouri State alumni are making noise in September — one chasing a championship, the other being recognized for what he does off the field.

Jake Burger: Clemente Nominee and Clutch Contributor

Jake Burger's week came with hardware and production. The Rangers first baseman was named Texas's 2026 Roberto Clemente Award nominee, joining 29 other MLB representatives recognized for community impact and character beyond the diamond. The award, one of baseball's most prestigious off-field honors, reflects Burger's sustained commitment to a cause that has defined his public identity away from the ballpark.

On the field, Burger backed it up when it counted. In a 7-1 win over the Blue Jays, Burger went 1-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored, and two walks — one of his better all-around plate appearances of the stretch. He also knocked in a run and scored in Texas's 7-3 victory over the Red Sox, finishing the week with multiple multi-contribution games as the Rangers kept their late-season momentum going. Burger is hitting .234 on the year.

The Clemente nomination adds a layer to what's been a quietly solid Rangers tenure for the Springfield product — a reminder that Missouri State alumni tend to show up in more ways than one.

Drake Baldwin: Bat Catches Fire in Atlanta's Playoff Push

If Burger's week was defined by recognition, Drake Baldwin's was defined by performance. The Braves catcher-turned-DH had arguably the most electric stretch of his young career, with Atlanta in the thick of a playoff chase.

The highlight came Tuesday against the Cubs: Baldwin blasted a two-run home run as part of a 6-3 Braves win, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. He kept hitting through the week — collecting two hits and a walk in one game against Houston, and posting three hits with a run scored in another — as Atlanta worked to clinch a postseason berth. By the weekend, the Braves were in position to punch their ticket, with Baldwin listed in the lineup at DH while Sean Murphy handled catching duties.

Baldwin is batting .282 on the season and has clearly carved out a role in a clubhouse stacked with established talent. Hitting alongside Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies — and going deep in the same game they did — is no small feat for a Missouri State product still establishing himself at the highest level.

The Rest of the Bears

Pierce Johnson made two appearances out of the Reds bullpen during the week, logging two innings of work with two strikeouts and an ERA of 4.82.

No other Missouri State alumni posted significant stat lines in the period, but with Burger's Clemente nod and Baldwin's breakout week, the Bears had more than enough to fill the highlight reel.

Missouri State has two alumni making noise in the final stretch of the MLB regular season, and both are doing it in the moments that matter most.

Baldwin Walks It Off in Atlanta

Drake Baldwin had the week's most dramatic moment when the Braves catcher — now a fixture in Atlanta's leadoff spot — delivered a walk-off RBI double to sink the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5. The play capped a back-and-forth game that also featured an Austin Riley solo shot, and it underscored just how central Baldwin has become to Atlanta's late-season push.

It wasn't a one-night heater. Baldwin was productive all week: he homered and drove in a run against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, picked up an RBI hit the following Tuesday, and went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in a 12-2 rout of Philadelphia on Saturday. Across the week, he slashed at a .277 clip — a number that reflects a steady, quietly productive season from a catcher who's earned his leadoff reps. The Braves had previously announced a lineup adjustment putting Baldwin back at the top of the order for Sunday's game against Philadelphia, a move that clearly paid off well ahead of schedule.

Burger Goes Deep Twice for Texas

Across the country, Jake Burger was authoring his own highlight week for the Rangers. On Sunday, September 6th, the former Missouri State first baseman launched two home runs and drove in three runs as Texas rallied from two four-run deficits — to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-6 and split a four-game set. Burger went 2-for-4 in that game with three runs scored, turning what could have been a demoralizing loss into a series salvage.

The power didn't stop there. Burger added another home run and an RBI on Wednesday against the Mariners, keeping his bat warm as Texas tries to stay relevant in the AL West. He finished the week batting .235–.239, modest by surface-level standards but buoyed by the kind of multi-hit, multi-RBI explosions that define his value to a Rangers lineup hunting late-season wins.

The Rest of the Bear Alumni

Elsewhere in the brief, Nationals catcher Drew Millas is dealing with a tough end to his season — he's been placed on the 60-day IL and is scheduled for a second procedure on his left index finger this year, effectively ending his 2026 campaign. It's a frustrating conclusion for the Missouri State backstop, who had been sidelined since mid-July.

Pierce Johnson saw action out of the Reds bullpen across three appearances this week, posting mixed results — a clean inning against the Brewers on Sunday, then rougher outings against the Dodgers and Brewers later in the week. He carries a 4.74 ERA heading into the final weeks of the season.

The bigger story, though, belongs to Baldwin and Burger — two Bears delivering when their respective clubs need it most.

Missouri State alumni are making their presence felt as the MLB season enters its final stretch, with Drake Baldwin and Jake Burger both delivering for their respective clubs the week of Aug. 30–Sept. 5.

Baldwin Won't Let the Sophomore Slump Exist

Drake Baldwin is doing his best to make the concept irrelevant. The Braves catcher posted hits in five of six games tracked this week, going multi-hit three times and batting .277 on the stretch — a number that climbed as high as .279 mid-week before settling back down after a September push. He drove in runs, scored runs, and drew walks: the full package of a patient, productive hitter.

The week's bookend performances told the story well. On Aug. 31 against the Giants, Baldwin went 2-for-the-day with an RBI and a run scored. On Sept. 5 against the Phillies, he went 2-for-the-day again, finishing the week as one of Atlanta's more reliable offensive contributors. Per Sports Illustrated, Baldwin is actively defying expectations for a second-year player — and the numbers back that up.

He was even slotted into the leadoff spot for Atlanta's makeup game against San Francisco, a signal of the trust the Braves coaching staff has placed in a catcher who was never supposed to be carrying this kind of lineup responsibility. For MSU fans, it's a remarkable arc to watch in real time.

Burger Keeps the Hits Coming in Texas

Jake Burger didn't have the flashiest week, but he was quietly consistent in a way that matters for a Rangers team still grinding through the final weeks of the season. The first baseman collected hits in four of six games, including a standout Sept. 5 performance against the Rays in which he went 1-for-the-day but added two runs scored and three walks — the kind of plate discipline that doesn't always show up in the hit column but absolutely shows up in the lineup's impact.

Burger sat at .237 to close out the week, a figure that reflects a full season's worth of at-bats rather than just one hot stretch. Per FanGraphs, Burger's approach at the plate is methodical — he categorizes pitchers into mental buckets and works to stay calm in the box, a philosophy that appears to be sustaining him through the grind of a 162-game schedule.

His Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 stretch against the Athletics included two hits and an RBI on Tuesday, helping Texas to an 8-1 win, before a quieter outing the following night in an 8-5 Rangers victory.

Pierce Johnson Provides Depth for Cincinnati

Worth a quick mention: Pierce Johnson, the MSU righty now with the Reds, made three appearances this week in relief, logging 2.2 innings across outings against the Padres and Brewers. His ERA sat at 4.35 by week's end — not flashy, but functional for a bullpen arm working through a long season.

---

Three Bears in big-league action as September arrives. Baldwin is the headliner, Burger is the steady contributor, and Johnson is doing the unglamorous work that keeps bullpens functional. For a mid-sized Missouri program, that's a legitimate MLB footprint.