Under-the-radar Cardinals prospect having breakout season

A top draft pick of the Cardinals' 2021 draft class is showing promising signs to start the 2025 season in High-A, so much so that it earned him a promotion to Springfield this week.

Joshua Baez, whom St. Louis used a second-round pick on now four years ago, is having a productive year at the plate so far for Peoria. He is currently slashing .319/.404/.489 with 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 23 RBIs, and he has stolen 19 bases in 37 games this season. He split time between Low-A and High-A last season but still got into 71 games to end the 2024 season with Peoria. He isn't necessarily repeating the level, but he has seen big strides at the level from last season.

The 21-year-old carried a .694 OPS over the 71 games once he got to High-A last season, which indicates he experienced some struggles after promotion. He struck out 97 times and only walked 24 times in that span. So far in 2025, he has struck out 36 times and already has walked 17 times in 37 games.

Baez had his best week at the plate so far this season last week, which included a career day at the plate that saw him blast two home runs.

There was a good reason why the Cardinals drafted Baez with their second-round pick back in 2021 and gave him an over-slot bonus: He has the tools to impact the game in every way possible. He has played all three outfield positions this year and has not committed an error in over 265 innings. He has stolen 19 bases in 37 games, which puts him on pace to surpass his professional career high of 30 in 2023 in Palm Beach.

The young outfielder will look to build upon his productive season now that he is at the Double-A level.