Say what you want about Cotuit Kettleers manager Mike Roberts, but he knows a major league ballplayer when he sees one.
In a postgame interview with Jenna Meyer on July 9, 2022, Roberts was asked about Baldwin following his final game of a terrific 2022 summer. The head coach gave a bold prediction for the soon-to-be 12th-round pick of that year’s MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox, stating the Swiss army knife would make it to “The Show” in two years.
Two years and 10 days to the date, Baldwin has become yet another big leaguer on the Cotuit skipper’s resume as he made his MLB debut on Friday against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Baldwin first came over to the Kettleers in 2021 from UNC Wilmington following his red-shirt sophomore season at the school. It took some time for his breakout with the Seahawks after posting a .682 OPS as a freshman and .611 mark in a pandemic-shortened season in 2020.
The third go-around at UNCW was the charm for Baldwin, who put himself on the map by slashing .325/.353/.580 in 54 games with a team-leading 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. His 79 hits and 141 total bases led the Coastal Athletic Association, paving the way to making First-Team All-CAA and the CAA All-Tournament team that year. The San Francisco Giants took a flier on Baldwin in the 15th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but he would ultimately return to school for his red-shirt junior season the next spring.
In his first stint Cotuit in 2021, Baldwin played in 18 games from June 20 to July 14. He compiled 16 hits, five of which went for extra bases.
But similarly to his time in college, Baldwin excelled as time went on for the Kettleers. Baldwin returned to Cotuit in 2022 after sweeping the preseason and regular season CAA Player of the Year honors, appearing in 24 contests for the Ketts. He kept a hot bat going into June and July after a 1.021 OPS campaign at school, batting .361 in 97 at-bats.
Serving primarily as an outfielder but making appearances everywhere in the infield except shortstop, Baldwin brought some pop with a .485 slugging percentage aided by five doubles, a pair of triples, and one home run. His production led to a .866 OPS in his second Cape League season, but despite all Baldwin accomplished with both a metal and wood bat, he couldn’t get over the hump of being a Day 3 pick.
“He's a backyard baseball player. He didn't pass the analytics test,” said Roberts. “That's the reason he was drafted [in the] 15th round and in the 12th round, and several of us, including myself tried to get him drafted much higher. We were telling people that this guy can play in the big leagues.”
The White Sox took Baldwin in the 12th round and promoted him to single-A Kannapolis for the rest of the season after 10 games in rookie ball. In a similar path to his time at UNCW and in Cotuit, it took a little bit of time for his breakout to come. Never finishing with a batting average higher than .245 as a professional between 2022 and 2023, something clicked for Baldwin after receiving a late-season call-up to high-A Winston-Salem.
Baldwin batted .327 in his 26 games with the Dash and never looked back in terms of his development. He started the 2024 season in Double A with the Birmingham Barons and maintained the same level of production, slashing .322/.386/.441 in 74 contests.
Chicago tested him with a promotion to triple-A Charlotte on July 4, where Baldwin would more than answer the call in his cup of coffee as a Knight. He wound up with a 1.006 OPS in those eight games, and now joins the MLB roster for the second half of the season.
Baldwin has defensive versatility, but projects best as an infield option on a team that will be selling at the trade deadline at the end of the month and currently stocks a surplus of outfielders.
Baldwin batted eighth and played second base in his major league debut. He went 1-for-3, recording his first hit in his first at-bat on a single through the right side against Michael Wacha.
Thumbnail photo by Alysa Rubin.
