Bryan

Torres

Thank goodness we don’t get to miss out on Báez at Coors. He had sat in favor of Bryan Torres the last two times the Cardinals faced righties. Torres is still in the lineup tonight, but he’s playing second base over José Fermin.

It’s the second time this week that the 23-year-old slugger has been held out of the Cardinals’ lineup. While he has shown his prodigious power with five home runs in his first 53 at-bats, he has done so while slashing a troublesome .170/.224/.491 with a 22/3 K/BB ratio over 58 plate appearances. Bryan Torres will start in his place in left field and will bat leadoff for the Cardinals against Pirates’ right-hander Braxton Ashcraft.

The third hit was a bunt that was popped up but wound up as a single anyway. Torres started in left field tonight after being held out of the lineup the previous three games. It seemed like he might be the favorite to start at second base against righties with Masyn Winn out and JJ Wetherholt sliding to short, for José Fermin has gotten the nod there the last two days. Torres is batting .268 with a .340 OBP this month. However, he hasn’t had an extra-base hit since doubling July 27 against the Cubs.

It’s new news that Winn has a fracture. The Cardinals figure to play JJ Wetherholt at shortstop for now. Nolan Gorman was recalled to replace Winn, but he didn’t play any second base in the minors, suggesting that he’ll remain limited to third base. That’s probably bad news for Blaze Jordan. Bryan Torres, José Fermin and Ramón Urías figure to see time at second base.

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.

Torres opened the scoring in the ballgame as he plated Lars Nootbaar with an RBI single off of Javier Assad in the second inning. That would be their only lead in the contest. With his two-hit attack, the 29-year-old outfielder is now slashing .244/.295/.451 with four homers and 13 RBI in his first 89 plate appearances with the big league club.

Torres gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with his third homer of the season, and while that was the last scoring play for St. Louis, it was enough with Kyle Leahy and the St. Louis bullpen holding the Marlins to just one run in the contest. The 28-year-old outfielder has done a decent-enough job since being promoted with a .234/.304/.468 slash over 48 at-bats.

It appears to be a routine day off for the 24-year-old outfielder. Walker has been one of the best hitters in the National League this season, hitting .290/.343/.516 with 18 homers and 58 RBI in 338 plate appearances. Lars Nootbaar will slide over and cover right field while Bryan Torres starts in left field and will bat sixth for the Cardinals against Tyler Phillips and the Marlins on Sunday.

Jordan had started 13 straight games. In his place at third base today is Bryan Torres, who last started a game on June 14. Jordan is batting .267/.280/.444 with one homer and 12 RBI. He’s only 4-for-19 with one double in his last six games, but he’s knocked in seven runs anyway.

Winn is clearly feeling better and appears to have managed to talk his way into the lineup following a one-game absence due to left thumb soreness. His return pushes rookie standout JJ Wetherholt back to the keystone with Bryan Torres retreating to the bench.