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Braves’ Drake Baldwin emerges as NL ROY betting favorite after Smith-Shawver injury
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- Braves’ Drake Baldwin emerges as NL ROY betting favorite after Smith-Shawver injury
Credit: Brett Davis
The post Braves' Drake Baldwin emerges as NL ROY betting favorite after Smith-Shawver injury appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The Atlanta Braves are in the middle of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies took Game 1 on Tuesday and then Game 2 early on Thursday. Game 3 and the finale will be starting in under an hour. Chris Sale will take on Zack Wheeler .
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What happened during Game 1 of the DH puts the Braves in a very tough position. AJ Smith-Shawver , a rookie starting pitcher, has arguably been the top hurler for the Braves this season. Smith-Shawver left the game after apparently hearing a "pop" in his arm. The right-hander has already been placed on the 15-day IL, and the Braves called up Michael Peterson to fill the void .
Smith-Shawver had been tearing up the MLB this season. In nine starts, the rookie is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. The sportsbooks took notice, and Smith-Shawver became the odds-on favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year.
Smith-Shawver's teammate and catcher, Drake Baldwin , now takes over as the betting favorite to win the award. He is currently +220 to win. Marlins ' catcher Agustin Ramirez is second at +350, and Matt Shaw is third at +700.
Baldwin or Ramirez would be the first catcher in the NL to win ROY since Buster Posey did so in 2010 for the San Francisco Giants .
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This season, Baldwin is putting together elite plate appearances. Ahead of the series finale, he is batting .337 with five homers, 15 RBIs, and a .912 OPS. Furthermore, the catcher has 33 hits, four doubles, walked seven times, and has only K'd up 15 times in 98 ABs. Last Saturday against the San Diego Padres , Baldwin smashed three singles and even walked once. He has yet to start a game in the series against Philadelphia but is back in the lineup for the finale.
The rookie has been batting second in a deep lineup for the Braves. Ronald Acuna Jr. leads off, followed by Baldwin, Marcel Ozuna, Matt Olson , Austin Riley , and Ozzie Albies . Those six batters are as deep as any team in the league offensively.
