<img alt="MLB: All Star Futures Game" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UYrKQ8TGG0PJ1HkjSITWc9IR5sI=/0x0:4338x2892/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73605247/usa_today_23736708.0.jpg">
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The catcher saw a meteoric rise thanks to an extremely strong 2024 campaign Baseball America announced their top minor league players across each organization today and it’s not really a surprise who was named for the Atlanta Braves.
Minor League Player Of The Year For All 30 MLB Teamshttps://t.co/efHs0dTVFk pic.twitter.com/H7z72VklyU— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) September 23, 2024
The Braves 2022 third round draft pick picked up the honor thanks to an extremely impressive 2024 campaign. After being drafted in 2022 out of Missouri State, Drake would go on to play three games in complex ball where he slashed .375/.400/.625 and earned himself a quick promotion to Low-A Augusta where he would hit .247/.396/.284 in 21 games.
In 2023, Drake would start the season at High-A Rome where he hit .260/.385/.466 in 92 games - good for a 135 wRC+ where he showed a robust 15% walk rate, while striking out 20% of the time. The great work in Rome saw him end the season at Double-A Mississippi in just his first full season of professional baseball. Drake would appear in 14 games and hit .321/.390/.396 with a 10% walk rate, and saw his strikeout rate drop to 18%. With the Double-A season over, Drake was promoted to Triple-A to finish the season where Drake would slash .333/.333/.583.
With just 14 games in Double-A, and 3 games in Triple-A Drake would start the 2024 season in Double-A where he appeared in 52 games where he would hit .244/.313/.337 on an anemic Mississippi Braves season - yet he still walked 9% of the time and struck out just 19% with a 96 wRC+. Despite the line, the Braves promoted Drake alongside Nacho Alvarez Jr, to Triple-A Gwinnett where Drake would really take off and see his prospect status skyrocket. Across 72 games in Triple-A, Drake would hit .298/.407/.484 - walking an astounding 15.6% of the time and striking out just 16.2%. This string of play led to Drake being named a Top-100 prospect by Baseball America (78) and put him on the radar of fans of Atlanta.
With his ability to stay at catcher and provide good defense, and framing, with a good arm and his ability to get on base at that position Drake finds himself with a massive opportunity next season. There’s not much more he has to prove in Minor League Baseball so it will be extremely interesting to see how he is utilized next year by the Braves whether that be on the field, or in a trade. While there were quite a few standout performances in the minors within the organization, there’s no denying that Drake deserved the honor after an absolutely fantastic 2024 campaign.
<img alt="MLB: All Star Futures Game" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UYrKQ8TGG0PJ1HkjSITWc9IR5sI=/0x0:4338x2892/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73605247/usa_today_23736708.0.jpg">
Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The catcher saw a meteoric rise thanks to an extremely strong 2024 campaign Baseball America announced their top minor league players across each organization today and it’s not really a surprise who was named for the Atlanta Braves.
Minor League Player Of The Year For All 30 MLB Teamshttps://t.co/efHs0dTVFk pic.twitter.com/H7z72VklyU— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) September 23, 2024
The Braves 2022 third round draft pick picked up the honor thanks to an extremely impressive 2024 campaign. After being drafted in 2022 out of Missouri State, Drake would go on to play three games in complex ball where he slashed .375/.400/.625 and earned himself a quick promotion to Low-A Augusta where he would hit .247/.396/.284 in 21 games.
In 2023, Drake would start the season at High-A Rome where he hit .260/.385/.466 in 92 games - good for a 135 wRC+ where he showed a robust 15% walk rate, while striking out 20% of the time. The great work in Rome saw him end the season at Double-A Mississippi in just his first full season of professional baseball. Drake would appear in 14 games and hit .321/.390/.396 with a 10% walk rate, and saw his strikeout rate drop to 18%. With the Double-A season over, Drake was promoted to Triple-A to finish the season where Drake would slash .333/.333/.583.
With just 14 games in Double-A, and 3 games in Triple-A Drake would start the 2024 season in Double-A where he appeared in 52 games where he would hit .244/.313/.337 on an anemic Mississippi Braves season - yet he still walked 9% of the time and struck out just 19% with a 96 wRC+. Despite the line, the Braves promoted Drake alongside Nacho Alvarez Jr, to Triple-A Gwinnett where Drake would really take off and see his prospect status skyrocket. Across 72 games in Triple-A, Drake would hit .298/.407/.484 - walking an astounding 15.6% of the time and striking out just 16.2%. This string of play led to Drake being named a Top-100 prospect by Baseball America (78) and put him on the radar of fans of Atlanta.
With his ability to stay at catcher and provide good defense, and framing, with a good arm and his ability to get on base at that position Drake finds himself with a massive opportunity next season. There’s not much more he has to prove in Minor League Baseball so it will be extremely interesting to see how he is utilized next year by the Braves whether that be on the field, or in a trade. While there were quite a few standout performances in the minors within the organization, there’s no denying that Drake deserved the honor after an absolutely fantastic 2024 campaign.
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