Just over 24 hours ago, Joshua Báez had been enjoying a season of ebbs and flows at the dish. Then he walked into Werner Park in Omaha on Tuesday and hasn’t stopped mashing since.
MLB.com's No. 68 prospect delivered his second consecutive multihomer performance for Triple-A Memphis en route to Wednesday night's 5-2 win. In the process, Báez became the seventh Minor Leaguer to reach the 15-homer plateau across all levels this season. His nine long balls in May tie him for third among all batters.
Báez’s first homer was a game-tying solo shot in the sixth off veteran MLB reliever Jose Cuas (Royals), who gives a difficult look for any right-handed pitcher with his low three-quarters arm slot. After a first-pitch ball, Báez was way out in front of an 82.4 mph sweeper on the outer third for a swinging strike. The Cardinals' No. 3 prospect was way early on the next pitch too, but he managed to get the barrel to it and swatted it 396 feet over the left-field fence -- a testament to his above-average power tool.
Báez’s second roundtripper -- a two-run shot -- was much more conventional, at least by his standards. Facing right-hander Beck Way, he turned on a cutter on the inner third and walloped it 112.5 mph off the bat, marking his hardest-hit homer of the year.
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Eye-popping exit velocities have been all the rage for the 22-year-old in 2026. He ripped his hardest-hit ball of the season (a 113.3 mph groundout) during his first two-homer performance Tuesday, and he has accounted for seven of Memphis’ 14 highest EVs all year. He has posted an average exit velocity of 91.3 mph on balls put in play this season, among the top 20 percent of batters in the Triple-A International League with at least 100 plate appearances this year.
For all the excitement around the thunder in Báez’s bat, it’s worth considering other key developmental aspects to his game. Through play Wednesday, his 67 strikeouts are tied for sixth-most in all of the Minors. That comes out to a 32.7 percent strikeout rate, a double-digit jump from where that number sat last season (20.6 percent). Having drawn a walk just 7.8 percent of the time, it’s more of a two-true outcome approach than three at this stage.
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With that said, the Cardinals could use an infusion of Báez's kind of power. They rank in the middle of the pack in the National League in home runs (60) and OPS (.701) as a club. Recently promoted 28-year-old Bryan Torres is filling the spot of injured outfielder Nathan Church, but even with Lars Nootbaar on the mend, the group is distinctly lacking another right-handed-hitting presence on the grass to go along with Jordan Walker. St. Louis has produced just a .673 OPS against lefties and its 117 hits vs. southpaws are the third-fewest in the NL.
Báez has mashed left-handers, in particular, this season with eight of his 15 homers off them in just 54 total at-bats. With seven multihit games this month, the club’s 2021 second-round pick has placed himself firmly on the doorstep of the big league Redbirds.