JUPITER, FL: Joshua Baez of the St. Louis Cardinals poses during the St. Louis Cardinals’ photo day at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Feb. 17, 2026. (Photo by Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Joshua Baez’s 17 home runs at Triple-A Memphis are more than any St. Louis Cardinals player has hit this season. The 22-year-old prospect also has 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts and is playing fine defense. too.
A year ago, Baez was one of only two minor-league players with 20 homers and 50 steals. The other was Konnor Griffin, ranked as the top prospect in the game entering 2026 and now the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting shortstop. Griffin had 21 homers, 65 steals; Baez had 20 homers, 54 steals.
That was the type of production envisioned by the Cardinals when they selected Baez in the second round in 2021 and paid the outfielder $2.25 million to ditch his college commitment to Vanderbilt.
Baez threw 97 mph from the pitcher’s mound in high school; his speed and power bat drew comparisons to MLB star Mike Trout. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the No. 24 prospect entering the draft. Current Washington Nationals slugger James Wood was No. 44. The Cardinals’ top pick that year Michael McGreevy was No. 28. The right-hander, now 25, has a 14-9 career record for St. Louis.
FRISCO, TX: Joshua Baez of the Springfield Cardinals slugs a home run against the Frisco RoughRiders at Riders Field on June 4, 2025. (Photo by Charisma Jones/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
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Baez’s development was slowed by left wrist surgery that limited him to 32 games in 2022. By 2025, he started to put his skills together. Overall between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield last year, Baez batted .287 with a manageable 59 walks to 103 strikeouts. That was much better than his previous four-year totals of 107 walks to 308 strikeouts.
Baez’s five-tool skills have him near the top of many International League offensive categories. The only stat in which he leads is why Baez is still at Memphis – his 81 strikeouts in 59 games.
No Shortcuts
Chaim Bloom, the Cardinals’ president of operations, said the team plans to be patient as the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder works on pitch recognition and mastering the strike zone.
Bloom took some heat from impatient fans during spring training after Baez hit three homers in three consecutive games – and was sent back to the minors.
JUPITER, FL: Joshua Baez of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases after hitting a home run during a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at Roger Dean Stadium on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
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“He already had a lot of admirers in this organization and now he has a few more,” Bloom told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Nothing but good things to say about what he did here. Aside from the obvious — the big homers — the work he put in and the way he went about it.
“Everything we’re doing with these guys at Triple-A, it’s still about the major-league club. It’s just not taking a shortcut to the instant gratification over helping a player reach his ceiling.
“Ultimately, we’re going to get where we want to go if we can help as many players as possible to that ceiling, and we owe it to ourselves and them to make sure what that is and not take shortcuts for the sake of expedience, for the sake of a need today that might not serve the organization.”
Bloom accentuated his point in an interview with Tom Ackerman of KMOX radio by comparing it to St. Louis’ callup of Jordan Walker at age 21 in 2023.
ST LOUIS: Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals tosses his bat after striking out against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium on Aug. 26, 2025. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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“I’ve been asked a lot of questions since being here, particularly around someone like Jordan about ‘Did he get up here too fast?’ ‘Was it right for him to skip Triple-A?’ Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s important to remember those things when we’re talking about someone like Josh.”
Walker was an instant hit as a rookie, batting .276 with 16 homers and 51 RBI. He then was abysmal in 2024 and 2025 for St. Louis, totaling 176 strikeouts, 39 walks and hitting .211 between trips back to the minors.
Now 24, Walker is the Cardinals’ premier player. He leads the club in homers (16), runs (44), RBI (47), steals (10) and batting average (.303).
Strikeouts? So What!
For 98 years, the all-time lead in strikeouts has been held by four men. All these are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- Babe Ruth passed Jimmy Sheckard’s total of 849 in 1928 and finished his career with 1,330.
- Mickey Mantle passed the Babe in 1963 on the way to 1,710.
- Willie Stargell went past Mantle in 1978 and finished with 1,912.
- Reggie Jackson took the lead in 1982 and totaled a whopping 2,587 Ks.
LOS ANGELES: New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson strikes out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 11, 1978. CREDIT: Heinz Kluetmeier (Photo by Heinz Kluetmeier /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X22788 TK2 R7 F15 ) 079007107
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Those four risk/reward sluggers also combined for overwhelming production, too:
- Ruth: 714 homers, 2,214 RBI, 2,174 runs, 2,062 walks.
- Mantle: 536 homers, 1,509 RBI, 1,676 runs, 1,733 walks.
- Stargell: 475 homers, 1,540 RBI, 1,194 runs, 937 walks.
- Jackson: 563 homers, 1,702 RBI, 1,551 runs, 1,375 walks.
When you produce, strikeouts can be at least accepted if not totally ignored.
Baez’s Future With St. Louis Cardinals
Baez’s production vs. strikeouts ratio will determine his immediate career.
Right now, the Cardinals want to see it improve. Then again, they want to boost the MLB team’s offense. St. Louis is slightly below average in nearly every offensive category among MLB’s 30 teams.
St. Louis has the second-youngest (25.6 years old) roster in MLB to the Washington Nationals (24.9). First baseman Alex Burleson, age 27 (.290, 8 homers, 43 RBI) and rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt, age 23 (.246, 9 homers, 40 runs) need help supporting Walker.
ST LOUIS: JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds third base after hitting a home run for his first hit in his MLB debut on Opening Day at Busch Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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How long the Cardinals stay in the NL Central race may force them to bring up Baez. When Bloom preached patience in March, the thought was that 2026 was a rebuilding year. St. Louis’ overall record the previous three years was 232-254 – following 15 consecutive winning seasons and 10 playoff appearances.
Yet the Cardinals (35-28) are second in the division to the Milwaukee Brewers despite pitiful offense from outfielders Nathan Church (.247, 18 RBI) and Victor Scott (.194, 9 RBI). Veteran Lars Nootbaar was recently activated but his average numbers the last four seasons (13 homers, 45 RBI, 59 runs) are not eye-popping.
Should the Cardinals keep flying, the urge to add Baez’s bat will increase. Jimmy Crooks, Cesar Prieto, Blaze Jordan and Leo Bernal are hitting well at Memphis, too. Who gets the call? Who needs to gain experience and confidence at Triple-A?
Improved decision-making by Baez at bat can help St. Louis Cardinals executives make their tough choice on whether or not to call him up.