Missouri State Professional Athletes

Missouri State's Drake Baldwin in the Playoff Spotlight — For Better and Worse

Drake Baldwin is getting his October moment. It just hasn't gone the way any Bears fan would have scripted it.

The Missouri State alumnus is starting behind the plate for the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers — a legitimate playoff role for a catcher who fought his way up through the organization. But with Atlanta now staring down elimination, Baldwin's bat has gone cold at the worst possible time, and the pressure couldn't be higher.

Through three games of the series, Baldwin is hitting just .111, a stretch that includes a 1-for-4 outing in Game 3 on Wednesday that did little to help Atlanta claw back from the brink. He did show some discipline earlier in the series — drawing three walks in Game 1 on Monday and driving in a run Tuesday — but the overall line is a difficult one to defend when the Braves' offense, top to bottom, has been struggling to generate anything against a dominant Dodgers pitching staff.

That pitching staff made itself felt early. In Game 1, Tarik Skubal was nothing short of dominant, allowing one run on two hits across six innings, striking out seven. Baldwin actually drew first blood — a leadoff single that briefly suggested a Braves rally — but Skubal promptly retired the next 15 batters he faced. Sean Murphy ended the streak, but the damage was done. The Dodgers won 5-3.

By Game 3, the Braves made lineup adjustments in search of any offensive spark. Michael Harris II moved to the leadoff spot, and Baldwin was dropped to fifth in the order. Ronald Acuña Jr. returned to right field, with Tyler Mahle getting his usual battery mate in Sean Murphy — a notable pairing that left Baldwin's role in flux for moments of the series.

The brutal reality Atlanta now faces: Baldwin, Ronald Acuña, Matt Olson, and other core pieces of the Braves' lineup have all been slumping simultaneously. That's not a recipe for a comeback. According to Sports Illustrated, the Braves' biggest stars have one game left to save their season — and the margin for error is zero.

For Baldwin, this series has been a high-wire act representative of the entire postseason experience: a young catcher getting legitimate big-league reps at the game's biggest stage, learning what October baseball demands. The .111 average stings, but his presence in an NLDS lineup speaks to how far the Springfield, Missouri native has come.

The other Missouri State alumni around MLB — Jake Burger with the Rangers, Dylan Coleman with the Yankees, Jeremy Eierman with the Athletics, Pierce Johnson with the Reds, Hayden Juenger with the Athletics, Jake McCutcheon with the Marlins, Drew Millas with the Nationals, Spencer Nivens with the Royals, and Luke Voit with the Mets — wrapped up their regular seasons without the same postseason platform. For now, Baldwin is the lone Bear under the October lights, and Atlanta needs him to heat up fast if the Braves are going to force a Game 5.

When the Atlanta Braves needed someone to deliver in the Wild Card round, Drake Baldwin — a former Missouri State Bear — was hitting cleanup and coming through when it mattered most.

The Braves dispatched the Philadelphia Phillies in three games to advance to the NLDS, and Baldwin was squarely in the middle of it. The catcher batted first in the Wild Card lineup — listed atop the Braves' order — and in Game 2 on Wednesday, September 30, he delivered the blow that flipped the series: a go-ahead RBI in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a Bryce Harper misplay on a fly ball to right field. Atlanta won 6-2, and Baldwin finished the game 2-for-something with an RBI. After the clincher on Thursday, Baldwin kept it brief on social media — a two-word post that matched the moment's confidence.

Baldwin had already shown he belonged at this level before the playoffs even started. In a late-September tuneup against the Marlins, he homered and drove in two runs in an 8-3 Braves win — the kind of performance that earns a veteran's rest day in the series finale as Atlanta locked in its postseason rotation. That day off, alongside Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II, said as much about his standing in the lineup as any box score.

Now the Braves face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, with Game 1 on Saturday in California. Baldwin went 1-for-5 in that opener. It's a steep hill — the Dodgers are the defending World Series favorites — but Baldwin's presence in a playoff lineup is a story that didn't exist in Springfield two years ago.

The Other Bear Worth Watching

Jake Burger had a rougher September in Texas. The Rangers first baseman's late-season slide mirrored his team's broader offensive struggles, per Sports Illustrated, at precisely the moment the club needed production most. He did provide a flash on the positive side — homering in a 6-2 Rangers win over the Twins that temporarily steadied the ship — but it wasn't enough to carry Texas into the bracket with the momentum it needed. Burger finished the period hitting .228, and the Rangers' postseason window came up short.

---

The contrast between Baldwin and Burger this week tells the Missouri State story in full. One alum is catching in the NLDS; the other is heading into an offseason with questions. Bears fans know which one they'll be watching on Saturday afternoon.

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.