The Cardinals are sending one of their top prospects to the big leagues for the final stretch.
St. Louis is calling up outfielder Joshua Baez, the team’s No. 3 prospect and No. 59 overall on MLB Pipeline, to help with their postseason push.
Manager Oliver Marmol told reporters that Baez, 23, will be in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the Cubs for his MLB debut.
“He’s on his way,” Marmol said, according to MLB.com. “He’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”
Baez has had a successful season for Triple-A Memphis, posting a slash line of .256/.328/.573 with 34 home runs and 90 RBIs in 103 games.
Since being drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, Baez has had varying levels of success in the minor leagues, having rather underwhelming offensive seasons until breaking out last year with High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield.
“There’s an edge to it,” Marmol added. “There’s a confidence to it, and he has a work ethic that’s fun to watch, too. He knows how to get after it. He wants to win, and it’s fun to inject that into this clubhouse because we have a lot of guys that are that way.”
Despite showing impressive levels of power, there has been concern about Baez’s plate discipline, as he’s racked up over 100 strikeouts in four of his six minor league seasons.
The Cardinals, however, believe that Baez is improving and can be a useful bat for them for the remainder of the season.
“There’s a hitter in there, too,” Cardinals assistant general manager of player development and performance Rob Cerfolio said. “His goal the last couple months has been to hit .300 in the second half, and he doesn’t really need to swing for power.
“Power is just part of what he does.”
While the National League Central division title might be out of reach for the Cardinals — as the Brewers lead them by 14 games — they are in a battle for the wild card, sitting just 3½ games behind the Phillies for the final spot.
