Joshua

Báez

This effectively ends his season. Báez hit .230/.278/.510 with seven homers and two stolen bases in 29 games with the Cardinals, including an electric three-homer debut at Wrigley Field. The 23-year-old will likely be in the Cardinals plans for 2027 in left field or at designated hitter. The power and speed he showcased will make him a popular fantasy sleeper even despite the sub-par batting average.

The major concern here is that any sort of oblique issue would be season-ending. Báez went 0-for-4 at the dish before being removed from the contest in the 10th inning. The 23-year-old top prospect’s all-or-nothing offensive approach has resulted in a respectable .230 batting average with seven homers, 18 RBI and two steals through 29 games. He’s also struck out 33 times in 100 at-bats. He’ll undergo further evaluation to determine whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list.

It’s notable that Walker is absent from St. Louis’ lineup after making an early exit from Friday’s contest in the eighth inning with a possible lower-body issue. It’ll be top prospect Joshua Báez taking over in right field in his place. There should be a definitive update on his status at some point this weekend.

The 23-year-old slugger smacked an RBI single in the third inning that gave the Cardinals a 3-2 lead that they would never surrender. He then delivered an RBI double in the fifth inning and scored on an RBI double off the bat of Leo Bernal. He also doubled in the seventh inning and was once again driven in by Bernal. With his three-hit attack, Báez is now slashing .261/.313/.580 to go with seven home runs, 18 RBI and two stolen bases in his first 96 plate appearances.

Báez’ home run was his seventh of the season. He hit a solo shot off Mason Adams in the second inning. Báez is now 8-for-21 (.380) with three home runs and six RBI over his last seven games. He’s hitting .229 with an .872 OPS and 15 RBI in his first taste of the major leagues. Báez’ tools are loud enough to put up with the strikeouts and low average.

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.

Báez takes a seat against Dodgers workhorse Yoshinobu Yamamoto after blasting a solo homer off lefty Justin Wrobleski during Tuesday’s blowout win in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old top prospect has struck out just over 36 percent of the time, while also homering six times, in 63 plate appearances over 17 games since being called up last month. He’s a bit of an all-or-nothing fantasy contributor at this early stage of his big-league career. He’ll probably be back in there to face lefty ace Tarik Skubal Thursday’s series finale.

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.

Baez is hitting .083 (3-for-36) with one homer, four RBI and two steals in 10 games since launching three homers in his sublime major-league debut earlier this month. He’s also struck out a whopping 16 times during that span. The 23-year-old projects as a streaky power hitter for fantasy purposes and he’s been mostly cold of late, which makes it challenging to keep him rostered in shallow mixed leagues.

Báez probably won’t be hit for often, but the Cardinals had Alec Burleson, who was getting a rare night off, replace him in the eighth. Báez homered off Jesús Luzardo in his first at-bat tonight to snap a 1-for-22 skid since he homered in his first three at-bats as a major leaguer. He has a fun .179/.273/.607 line to date.