Who is Jesus Baez? A breakdown of Cardinals' prospect return for Ryan Helsley

With just one day to spare, John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals traded prized closer and the longest-tenured Cardinal Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets. The Mets, who earlier in the day traded for reliever Tyler Rogers, now have one of the best bullpens in the league as they barrel towards the postseason. The Cardinals on the other hand beefed up a middle-of-the-road farm system.

In return for the 30-year-old Helsley, the Cardinals received three prospects: infielder Jesus Baez and pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt.

It appears as though the Cardinals opted for quantity over quality in this trade, though that isn't to say that these three players can't pan out to be major leaguers down the road. For today, I'm going to focus solely on Jesus Baez.

Jesus Baez enters the St. Louis Cardinals farm system as a top-10 prospect following the Ryan Helsley trade.

Prior to the trade, Baez, 20, was ranked as the New York Mets' eighth-overall prospect. Following the trade, he was bumped up to the sixth spot for the St. Louis Cardinals. I would caution fans to not put too much stock into prospect rankings. Teams have internal evaluations that the public doesn't see, and a player's timeline could be more important than his ranking within a farm system. However, it shouldn't go without note that he is already a top prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline, and Baez was ranked 92nd on Baseball America's preseason top-100 list.

Baez presents an interesting power profile given his size. He's listed at 5'10" and 180 pounds. He has a 60-grade power tool, and he ranked in the 93rd percentile in the Florida State League in average exit velocity in 2024. He did well at hitting the ball hard lately, and he posted a max EV of 109.8 MPH this year. Baez has a tendency to swing at pitches outside of the zone (31.9% in 2024), but he is still able to barrel up pitches well.

Baez tore his meniscus in his right knee near the end of the 2024 season after a promotion to High-A, and he missed the rest of the season. He started the year off in Low-A this year with a .217/.308/.217 slash line across only six games. He was promoted quickly to High-A, and he's faring much better there.

Baez was slashing .244/.334/.406 with 10 home runs, 42 runs batted in, and 49 strikeouts to 32 walks across 254 at-bats. He's also stolen seven bases so far, though speed isn't necessarily his calling card. Since being promoted to High-A, Baez has been able to hit the ball in the air more and pull it more often. These are reassuring traits for a player of his size and power level.

From a defensive perspective, Jesus Baez has played shortstop, second base, and third base in the minors. He has a plus arm tool, so a permanent shift to third base is probable for the young infielder.

In acquiring Jesus Baez from the New York Mets, the Cardinals are keeping an eye firmly placed on the future. He's still only 20 years old, and he has yet to eclipse the High-A level as a prospect. However, Baez is a player fans should keep an eye on. If the Cardinals' new development team of Larry Day and Rob Cerfolio can get their hands on him quickly, Baez could be a strong major leaguer down the road.