Underrated Cardinals prospect sets new Peoria Chiefs record

The St. Louis Cardinals have seen their power numbers tick up at the major league level this year and are now seeing the same thing happen in the minor leagues. Slugger Blaze Jordan was just promoted and Rainiel Rodriguez continues to destroy baseballs, but Peoria shortstop Jesus Baez has been finding his stroke in High-A.

While Triple-A outfielder Joshua Baez has taken plenty of headlines for his light tower power, Jesus Baez has been sneaking up the organization's watch list. The infielder was acquired from the Mets in the Ryan Helsley trade among pitching prospects Frank Elissalt and Nate Dohm. All three prospects received from New York were in the Single-A ranks and have repeated the level this season, save for the injured Elissalt. Among the three, Baez has been the most impressive thus far.

Jesus Baez has unlocked more power since joining the Cardinals organization

The 21-year-old Baez rates as the organization's 19th-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline, but since he has been a professional since the age of 17, Baez is Rule 5 eligible this offseason. Since he is just at Single-A, the Cardinals may not have to protect him by adding him to the 40-man roster, but his progression will surely capture the attention of rival organizations.

After Baez hit a career-high 14 homers in 103 games last season, the shortstop has reached that mark in just 52 games this year. That impressive feat not only matches a high-water mark for Baez, but it also set a new single-season record for the Peoria Chiefs. The record comes with Baez on a hot streak, hitting three homers over his last seven games while hitting over .300 in that time.

Baez sits atop the team leaderboard in homers this year with surging prospect Tre Richardson right behind him. Richardson is the primary second baseman down at Peoria, so the double play combo with Baez is also mashing the ball, combining for 25 homers despite Richardson playing in just 29 games so far this year. Richardson is three years older than Baez and is in the same roster situation as the shortstop, so it will remain to be seen how long they are turning two together in the same organization.

There have been plenty of hot hitters making waves through the Cardinals' minor league system this year and Baez adds his name to the list. As the future remains the focus for Chaim Bloom and St. Louis, the players riding that Rule 5 eligibility line will be interesting to follow as the season progresses. Whether that means Bloom gets aggressive with promoting the fast-moving prospects or by challenging them at different positions, there is plenty to be excited about for the future.

14 home runs does seem low for a franchise record, but with the realization that Peoria is a High-A team, most of the better performing prospects get moved up to Springfield before they get the chance to pad their homer total. That is not to say that Baez is stuck in Peoria since he is still young and the other levels have solid infield prospects as well. Jesus Baez will be a name to watch for at the Trade Deadline and then in the winter to see how he fits into the organization's plans.

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