Cardinals OF prospect Joshua Báez walloped his 33rd home run of the season for Triple-A Memphis on Friday.
It seems inconceivable that Báez will spend the remainder of the season on the doorstep of the big leagues. The power-hitting 23-year-old has some work left to be done from a swing decision and approach standpoint to scale back on the strikeouts. However, it’s undeniable that his immense raw power would be useful for the Cardinals down the home stretch. They’re currently rolling with unheralded Bryan Torres, who holds a pedestrian .692 OPS, as their primary left fielder after moving Lars Nootbaar at the trade deadline earlier this week. The Cardinals would be able to promote Báez towards the end of next week and still retaining his rookie eligibility for next season. He’s the type of streaky slugger that could hit the ground running and make an immediate impact for fantasy managers, which makes him worthy of a speculative roster spot in all formats.
