The St. Louis Cardinals selected outfield Joshua Báez in the second round of the 2021 draft out of the Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts. He is the number six prospect in the Cardinals’ system, and FanGraphs lists him as 45+ Future Value (meaning he might be a serviceable big leaguer, even if slightly below average).
But what really stood out to scouts was Báez’s power. FanGraphs gives him a 50/60 (on the 20-80 scale) in Game Power and a 60/70 in Raw Power. Earlier this season, while playing at Triple-A Memphis, he hit four homers in a game. When he got called up to the big club, his slash line was .256/.328/.573, with 34 home runs and 22 doubles.
So, ten days ago, when he had his inaugural at-bat with two outs in the first inning of a game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, it was not all that shocking to see him crush a ball 109-mph and 449-feet to center field. What was surprising was that it was on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues.
Báez came up again to lead off the fourth inning. He ran the count full, and then launched his second home run of the day and his career. This one traveled 382-feet to the left field bleachers.
Alec Burleson walked to lead off the sixth inning. Báez came to the plate and took a curveball outside for ball one. The next pitch was a slider on the outer half that the left fielder drove 368-feet into the right field bleachers. Three major leagues at-bats, three major league home runs. Suffice it to say, that had never been done before.
Báez came to bat a fourth time in the eighth inning and lined out to left. On his walk back to the dugout, he was treated to a standing ovation by the fans in Chicago. St. Louis is often credited with having the best and most knowledgeable baseball fans, but the Wrigley Faithful gave them a run for their money with their appreciation of a rival player who put on a show for the ages. Or, they were simply applauding the fact that Báez got out and didn’t inflict any further damage on their beloved Cubbies.
The Cardinals would go on to win that game 8-4. Since that afternoon, Báez has added only two more hits, one of which was his fourth home run. His 2-for-28 run is for fitting for a rookie, but there is no doubt there is more magic in his bat. The Cardinals entered the season predicted to win about 72 games in a rebuilding year. They have already won 66, with six weeks left to play. They will not win the division (they are 15 games back of Milwaukee and in third place), but are only about four games out of the wild card race.
Báez — who announced his presence with authority on a sunny Saturday on the North Side of Chicago — is part of the future of this team, and that future may be here sooner than anyone expected.
PLAY BALL!!
