MLB Awards

Every November, baseball greats from across the country come together to accept specific awards for their outstanding performances throughout the season. You might be wondering which players the Braves are sending to Las Vegas this month.

Drake Baldwin- Rookie of the Year???

Over the course of the 2025 campaign, it’s easy to assume that all of Braves Country has grown a strong liking to the rookie catcher. I know I have. Though originally meant to be a backup to Sean Murphy, Drake ended up playing around the same number of games, if not more, than the veteran behind the dish, whether it be as the catcher or designated hitter. He ended the season with a .274 batting average (best of NL rookies), nineteen home runs (2nd best of NL rookies), and 80 RBIs (best of NL rookies). His work defensively was excellent, too, with a .995 fielding percentage. We could very well be looking at the 2025 Rookie of the Year in Atlanta’s 3rd round, 2022 draft pick.

Matt Olson- Gold Glove Finalist

We all know that the Braves’ first baseman has been fantastic for us offensively, but his defensive skill at his position - at least this year - has been even better. He is the best of both leagues at first base in defensive runs saved, racking the fielding percentage up to .993. He also has nine outs above average (27th out of all position players) and only one error. Aside from his Gold Glove-caliber defense, he remains the Braves' iron man, having played 782 consecutive games. If he wins the award (being an official finalist), it will be his third.

Nick Allen- Gold Glove Finalist

Okay, guys, you may not agree with me on this, but hear me out. I loved this guy at shortstop. His offensive skill was lacking, especially as the year progressed, but that should make the fact that he was in the lineup for 95 games this season - almost entirely for his defense - that much more impressive. He was at the very top of the outs above average leaderboard (with seventeen) up until Atlanta got Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from Tampa Bay. So, Nick wasn’t bumped down to seventh among all position players - which is where he sits now and is still a greatly respectable feat - due to slacking fielding performance. He just wasn’t playing in most of the September games. He made five errors all season, and only one of them was a fielding error. Ignoring the fact that Nick hit zero homers, he actually still had a better offensive season than his prior three, in several other categories. Although the Gold Glove award at shortstop will probably go to the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn, Nick is also a finalist and will, therefore, at least be getting some recognition for his unbelievable run at middle infield.

(Note: this article was written prior to the announcements made on November 2nd.)