Drake Baldwin returns from IL with 473-foot leadoff homer, longest of MLB season

Drake Baldwin seems fine.

The Atlanta Braves’ catcher returned to the lineup Tuesday after nearly a month on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique strain, and he immediately resumed his breakout season with a leadoff homer against the San Francisco Giants.

It wasn't just any homer, either. Facing Giants starter Adrian Houser, Baldwin took a 94.6-mph sinker left in the middle of the zone and deposited it at the base of the batter's eye in center field.

The home run was measured by Statcast at 112.8 mph off the bat, with a projected distance of 473 feet. That makes it the longest homer hit in MLB this season.

The previous longest home run of 2026 belonged to the Colorado Rockies' Seth Halvorsen at 471 feet, hit during the power boom in the Athletics' Las Vegas homestand last week.

That homer was part of a franchise-record 23 runs scored by the Rockies on Sunday.

Before going down with the oblique strain, Baldwin, the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year, was performing like one of the best players in baseball. He entered Tuesday slashing .303/.389/.543 with 13 homers in 48 games.

Despite his time missed, he led NL catchers in All-Star votes during the first release of numbers on Monday, with a healthy lead over the second-place Will Smith of the Los Angeles Dodgers. There seems to be little reason to expect Baldwin’s All-Star campaign to lose any steam now that he's back.