Ranking the 10 most valuable Cardinals who will define their future

#7 - OF Joshua Baez

Previous Rankings: Sept. '25 - HM, May '25 - Not even mentioned

Talk about a meteoric rise. Almost like what Jordan Walker is doing at the big league level this year, Joshua Baez was basically a "cast-off" among prospect evaluators going into last season after years of deep struggles at the plate, and he finally put everything together in 2025 to blossom into one of the top prospects in the sport.

Baez, who turns 23 at the end of June, posted a .287/.384/.500 slash line with 20 home runs and 54 stolen bases across High-A and Double-A last season, dramatically improving his horrible swing-and-miss issues and emerging as a top 50 prospect in the sport according to most outlets.

The outfielder followed that up with a really fun spring training, blasting home runs left and right and putting the Cardinals and this fanbase on notice. Chaim Bloom rightfully placed Baez in Memphis to begin this year, though, not looking to rush the development of such a promising young bat in their system, who still needs to prove he can overcome his swing and miss issues against Triple-A pitching.

Things have gone pretty well for Baez so far in Memphis, slashing .221/.315/.474 with six home runs and five stolen bases in just 25 games. Oh, and as I'm writing this, he just mashed his seventh homer of the year 454-feet!

His strikeout rate has gone back up to the troubling marks from before, currently sitting at 35.2% on the season, but that's why the Cardinals are giving him time to bake in Memphis. There is no rush to get him to St. Louis, but once he is ready, he has the potential to become a 30-30 player with good corner outfield defense for a long time.

Baez could even see some time in center field for the Cardinals long-term, but his likely defensive home seems to be in one of the corners, where his speed and plus arm can allow him to be a well-above-average defender there.

Baez hits baseballs extremely hard, and with Memphis this year, he ranks among the very best in Barrel%, Hard-Hit%, exit velocities, xSLG, and he's pulling fly balls at a high rate. This is a very exciting prospect to dream on.

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