Prospect Profile: Darren Baker
Remembered for a World Series moment at 3 years old, Darren Baker is now trying to be a star in his own right with the Washington Nationals
Editors Note: This is the latest in my player profile series that I have started here at the Nats Report. Check out other of my prospect player profiles:
Darren Baker
Position: Second Baseman
Current status: Rochester Red Wings
How acquired: Drafted in the 10th round (293rd overall) by the Washington Nationals in 2021 (signed for $146,800).
Quotable: "I was a little nervous… It's the president, you know? He said he remembered the play with me getting picked up. He took a picture of just me and him." - Darren Baker on taking a picture with former U.S. President George W. Bush during Game 3 of the 2023 ALCS via ABC 13.
2023 Grade: A
2024 Opening Day Projection: Triple-A Rochester
2023 stats:
107 G | 479 PA | 430 AB | 50 R | 122 H | 122 HR | 44 RBI | 21 SB | 79 SO | .284 BA | .698 OPS |
2023 Analysis
Darren Baker completed his third professional season, all with the Washington Nationals organization, after being selected in the 10th round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of California.
Baker spent the entire 2023 season with Rochester, leading all qualified Wings hitters with a .273 (110-for-403) batting average while hitting three home runs, four triples, ten doubles, and collecting 41 RBI. Baker set career-highs in multiple offensive categories, including RBI (44), walks (43), stolen bases (21), and games played (107) between Rochester and an eight-game rehab stint with the FCL Nationals and High-A Wilmington.
In the field, Darren has also been extremely impressive, posting a 968 fielding percentage with eight errors in 533 innings over 63 games at Triple-A.
Baker logged his first pair of four-hit games on April 13 and September 10 and led the team with 33 multi-hit performances. Lastly, Baker was named the 2023 Most Popular Player by the Rochester fans leading all Wings hitters with 110 hits.
Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings: A Year in Review
Richard • Nov 7, 2023
Let’s do a deep dive into the Rochester Red Wings 2023 season. Rochester finished the first half in 2023 with a 34-39 record and sixth-place finish, 13.5 games back of first-half winner the Norfolk Tides. The Red Wings were one of seven teams in the International League to pick up at least 20 wins at home (21-16) in the first half.
Read full story →
2024 outlook
Unfortunately, Darren Baker didn’t make it to the major leagues; however, with Lucis García’s future with the Nationals in question, we might see another Baker in the first base dugout in 2024. Darren has proven to be a quality defender at second base. However, he has dabbled a bit in the outfield.
If he can master an outfield position, we might see him in the Majors a bit sooner than we all think. Baker has shown that he has the bat discipline and also has shown that he is a contact hitter who can hit the ball all over the field.
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