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St. Louis Cardinals prospect Joshua Baez is continuing to turn heads down at Triple-A Memphis, with Baseball America writing on Monday that he's looking like a player with 35-homer potential at the big league level.
Now 22, Baez was a second-round pick of the Cardinals in 2021. He's hitting .249 right now with a .332 on-base percentage, 16 homers, 39 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
There's a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, as he's already accumulated 72 strikeouts in 201 at-bats, which equates to just over a 35 percent rate, but the pop is certainly real.
He was one of only two minor leaguers in 2025 to amass at least 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases, with Pittsburgh Pirates star Konnor Griffin being the other.
MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 3 prospect in the organization and the No. 67 prospect in the sport. He's expected to make his major league debut at some point this season, but the Cardinals are likely holding off until he gets the strikeouts under control, and until there's a need in the outfield.
As of now, the Cardinals have six players on the 26-man roster all capable of playing the outfield (Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Bryan Torres, Nelson Velazquez and Jordan Walker). There's simply no room for Baez to get a chance to contribute every day, and Lars Nootbaar is working back as well, which further complicates things.
It seems as if injuries or trades will be what opens up the opportunity for Baez.
St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
The Cardinals will open up a series with the Texas Rangers on Monday night at Busch Stadium. Right-hander Michael McGreevy will start for the Cardinals, who are 31-26 and in second place in the National League Central. Former Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom will pitch for Texas, who is 28-31 and tied for second in the middling American League West.
McGreevy is 3-4 with an impressive 2.98 ERA while deGrom is 3-4 with a 3.77.
Despite entering Sunday with MLB’s worst batting average with runners in scoring percentage at .223, the Cardinals got run-scoring hits from Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn and strong pitching from starter Matthew Liberatore and a first-ever save from starter-turned-reliver Hunter Dobbins in a 5-1 defeat of the Cubs.
You can read the full game story from that victory from our own John Denton here.
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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Now 22, Baez was a second-round pick of the Cardinals in 2021. He's hitting .249 right now with a .332 on-base percentage, 16 homers, 39 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
There's a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, as he's already accumulated 72 strikeouts in 201 at-bats, which equates to just over a 35 percent rate, but the pop is certainly real.
He was one of only two minor leaguers in 2025 to amass at least 20 home runs and 50 stolen bases, with Pittsburgh Pirates star Konnor Griffin being the other.
MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 3 prospect in the organization and the No. 67 prospect in the sport. He's expected to make his major league debut at some point this season, but the Cardinals are likely holding off until he gets the strikeouts under control, and until there's a need in the outfield.
As of now, the Cardinals have six players on the 26-man roster all capable of playing the outfield (Jose Fermin, Thomas Saggese, Victor Scott II, Bryan Torres, Nelson Velazquez and Jordan Walker). There's simply no room for Baez to get a chance to contribute every day, and Lars Nootbaar is working back as well, which further complicates things.
It seems as if injuries or trades will be what opens up the opportunity for Baez.
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St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Up next for St. Louis
The Cardinals will open up a series with the Texas Rangers on Monday night at Busch Stadium. Right-hander Michael McGreevy will start for the Cardinals, who are 31-26 and in second place in the National League Central. Former Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom will pitch for Texas, who is 28-31 and tied for second in the middling American League West.
McGreevy is 3-4 with an impressive 2.98 ERA while deGrom is 3-4 with a 3.77.
Also in the news
Despite entering Sunday with MLB’s worst batting average with runners in scoring percentage at .223, the Cardinals got run-scoring hits from Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Masyn Winn and strong pitching from starter Matthew Liberatore and a first-ever save from starter-turned-reliver Hunter Dobbins in a 5-1 defeat of the Cubs.
You can read the full game story from that victory from our own John Denton here.
Join the Conversation
Remember to join our CARDINALS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other CARDINALS fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
