The Cardinals are promoting one of their top prospects for the crucial final games of the season.
St. Louis is calling up outfielder Joshua Báez, recognized as the team’s No. 3 prospect and ranked No. 59 overall by MLB Pipeline, in hopes of boosting their postseason aspirations.
Manager Oliver Marmol shared with reporters that the 23-year-old Báez is set to make his MLB debut during Saturday’s matchup against the Cubs.
“He’s on his way,” Marmol noted, as reported by MLB.com. “He’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”
Báez has had a solid season with Triple-A Memphis, boasting a batting line of .256/.328/.573 along with 34 home runs and 90 RBIs across 103 games.
Since being picked by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Báez has experienced ups and downs in his minor league career. Yet, he showed notable improvement last year after struggling at times, especially with his breakout campaigns at High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield.
“It has its advantages,” Marmol remarked, adding that Báez’s strong work ethic is admirable. “He knows how to drive it. He wants to win. And injecting that into this clubhouse can be exciting because we have a lot of players with that mindset.”
Even though Báez has displayed impressive power, concerns linger about his plate discipline; he recorded over 100 strikeouts in four out of his six minor league seasons.
Nevertheless, the Cardinals are optimistic about Báez’s development, believing he could become an impactful hitter for them as the season wraps up.
Rob Sarforio, the Cardinals’ assistant general manager for player development and performance, expressed, “There are some hitters in there. His goal lately has been to hit .300 in the second half without necessarily swinging for power. Power is just a part of his role.”
While the NL Central title seems largely out of reach for the Cardinals, facing a 14-game deficit to the Brewers, they’ve still got their sights set on the wild card, trailing the Phillies by just three and a half games for the last playoff spot.
