The St. Louis Cardinals are set to make an important move toward the future by promoting highly regarded outfield prospect Joshua Báez to the major leagues. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol confirmed that Báez will be part of the lineup tomorrow, giving the 23-year-old an opportunity to show what he can do against MLB pitching.
The news was first reported earlier in the day by Mike Rodriguez of Rompiendo Sports before being confirmed by Marmol and other reporters covering the Cardinals. Because Báez is already protected on St. Louis’ 40-man roster, the organization does not need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move. Instead, the Cardinals only need to create room for him on the active roster.
All indications point toward infielder César Prieto being the player who will make way for Báez. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Prieto’s locker was being cleared following the team’s game, strongly suggesting that he will be optioned to the minors.
For Báez, the promotion represents the culmination of several years of development and comes at a fascinating point in his career. The Cardinals selected him in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and since entering professional baseball, he has gradually developed into one of the organization’s most intriguing power prospects.
His biggest calling card has always been his ability to hit for power. However, his development has also come with one major concern: strikeouts. During his first several seasons in the minor leagues, Báez struggled considerably with swing-and-miss issues. From 2021 through 2024, he accumulated 896 plate appearances across different minor league levels and struck out in 34.4% of those appearances. During that span, he hit 24 home runs.
While the strikeout numbers raised questions about whether his offensive game would translate at higher levels, Báez showed significant progress in 2025. Splitting the season between High-A and Double-A, he produced 20 home runs in only 499 plate appearances. More importantly, his strikeout rate dropped dramatically to 20.6%.
That improvement was enough to convince the Cardinals that he needed additional protection within the organization. St. Louis added Báez to its 40-man roster last November, preventing another organization from selecting him in the Rule 5 Draft.
The 2026 season has brought another major step forward in terms of power. Báez has taken his home-run production to another level, already recording 34 homers in 461 plate appearances. However, his strikeout rate has also climbed again, reaching 29.5%. That combination of elite power and significant swing-and-miss concerns remains central to his scouting profile.
Even with those concerns, Báez has continued to attract attention from prospect evaluators. Baseball America currently ranks him 56th among all prospects in baseball, while MLB Pipeline places him at No. 59. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him 93rd entering the season.
Not every evaluator is equally convinced about his long-term outlook. Keith Law of The Athletic did not include Báez among his preseason top 100 prospects and subsequently released an updated top-70 ranking that still did not feature the young outfielder. FanGraphs is also more conservative, ranking Báez sixth among Cardinals prospects and outside its overall top 100.
The differences between those rankings illustrate the uncertainty surrounding Báez. His power is undeniable, but scouts and analysts continue to debate whether he can make enough consistent contact to become an everyday major league hitter.
His offensive ability, however, is not the only reason the Cardinals remain interested in him. Báez has shown that he can contribute defensively as a corner outfielder and possesses a strong throwing arm. He has also demonstrated impressive speed on the bases.
That speed was particularly evident last season when Báez stole 54 bases. He has already recorded 21 steals this year, showing that he can provide value beyond simply hitting home runs.
The timing of his promotion is also significant. Major League Baseball’s rules regarding rookie eligibility have created an opportunity for teams to promote prospects late in the season without necessarily eliminating their rookie status for the following year.
A player loses rookie status after reaching 45 days of major league service time, 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched, depending on position. Since the season is already well advanced, Báez cannot accumulate the required 45 days of service time before the year ends. However, the Cardinals will need to monitor his playing time carefully if they want him to retain rookie eligibility in 2027.
That could become particularly important because of MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive. The PPI rewards teams that promote highly ranked prospects early enough for those players to qualify for a full season of service time and subsequently win certain major awards.
To qualify for the PPI, a prospect generally needs to appear on at least two of Baseball America’s, MLB Pipeline’s or ESPN’s preseason top-100 lists. Báez’s rankings could therefore make his rookie status an interesting factor for the Cardinals as they determine how much playing time he receives during the final portion of the season.
Beyond the rules surrounding his eligibility, the promotion makes sense from a baseball perspective. The Cardinals remain within striking distance of the postseason, sitting only 3.5 games away from a playoff position, but their recent moves indicate that the organization is also thinking about its long-term direction.
At the trade deadline, St. Louis moved several established players, including Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Lars Nootbaar, receiving prospects in return. Those transactions signaled that the Cardinals are willing to use the remainder of the season to evaluate younger talent.
Báez now becomes one of the latest prospects to receive that opportunity.
Rather than simply waiting until next season to see whether he is ready, St. Louis can use the final games of 2026 as an extended audition. The organization will be able to evaluate how his power translates against major league pitchers, how he handles higher-quality breaking balls and whether his strikeout problems become more pronounced at the MLB level.
He will also enter a crowded outfield competition that includes Jordan Walker, Nathan Church, Everson Pereira, José Fermín and Bryan Torres. That competition could make the final weeks of the season particularly important for Báez.
The Cardinals know exactly what they are getting in their young prospect: enormous power, athleticism, speed and a strong arm, paired with questions about contact and consistency.
His first major league opportunity will not immediately answer every question surrounding his future, but it will give St. Louis valuable information heading into the offseason.
For Báez, meanwhile, this is the biggest opportunity of his professional career. After years of developing in the minor leagues and working to balance his considerable power with improved plate discipline, he will finally get the chance to prove that his bat can play at the highest level.
If he can limit the strikeouts while maintaining his power production, Báez could quickly establish himself as an important piece of the Cardinals’ future. If the swing-and-miss issues continue to follow him, the organization will have more work to do.
Either way, his promotion gives Cardinals fans another young player to watch and provides the franchise with an early glimpse at what could become an important part of its next generation.
