Currently tearing the cover off the ball at Class Triple-A Memphis, the prodigious young power hitter should make the jump to The Show sooner rather than later
By Jason Fink | June 17, 2026
Right now, Joshua Baez is hotter than a St. Louis sidewalk in the middle of July. The St. Louis Cardinals’ top prospect had himself a night against as he went 4 for 5 with four home runs and seven RBIs in a Memphis Redbirds 12-5 win over the Nashville Sounds. Baez, who was hitting .226 as of May 19, is now hitting .282 for the season with an International League-leading 23 home runs to go along with 58 RBIs, which is good for second in the league. He also has 12 stolen bases and an OPS of .976.
Since May 1, the 22-year-old Baez is hitting .325 with 17 home runs and 43 RBIs in 36 games. For those who have been keeping tabs on the six-foot-three, 220-pound outfielder, he hit .333 with three home runs and five RBIs in ten games this past spring training. The Cardinals wanted him to get more seasoning at Memphis before he was fully cooked.
It would seem the young Redbird is ready for a promotion to the big club at some point in the near future. The Cardinals have been on a roll lately, going 7-3 in their last ten games while sitting 4.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals just called up young third baseman Blaze Jordan last week, and he has paid dividends for them thus far, hitting .316 with a home run and five RBIs in his first five games.
With outfielder Lars Nootbaar left fielder returning from injury earlier this month, the team currently has a logjam in the outfield as young star Jordan Walker continues his dominance at the plate and in the field in right field, and Nathan Church looking like a Gold Glove Award candidate in center field. Would the Cardinals consider making a deal to move Nootbaar at the trade deadline to make a spot for Baez? There is talk that many teams don’t want to call up top prospects with the threat of a lockout looming because if a player is on the 40-man roster, they don’t have access to Major League facilities. While I understand that train of thought, would the Cardinals really want to stunt the growth of Baez and possibly not see him in a big league uniform until he is 24 or 25, depending on how long the lockout could go? I think it’s a huge disservice to him and the Cardinals.
If Baez continues this onslaught going into July, the Cardinals are going to have a tough decision forthcoming. Prospects can only prove themselves for so long at the minor league level before there is nothing left to accomplish. Baez has already shown he can impact a game with his power, speed, and athleticism, and his recent surge suggests he may be ready for the next challenge.
Whether that opportunity comes this summer or after the dust settles on the looming labor situation remains to be seen. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that Joshua Baez is doing everything the Cardinals have asked of him. If he keeps producing at this pace, the question may soon shift from whether he’s ready for St. Louis to whether St. Louis can afford to keep him in Memphis.
Jason Fink is a writer, husband, and dad of two based in St. Louis. A sports fan for over 40 years with a tremendous love for the St. Louis Blues and St. Louis Cardinals, he writes with the perspective of someone who’s lived every high and low. His work blends insight, storytelling, and the kind of opinions every fan has—but doesn’t always say out loud
