Joshua Báez's 4-Homer Masterpiece Should Have Cardinals Thinking Promotion

UPDATE: St. Louis Cardinals prospect won't stop clubbing. He ended up smacking his fourth homer of the night on Tuesday.

ORIGINAL STORY: It's becoming very difficult to argue against the St. Louis Cardinals promoting No. 3 overall prospect Joshua Báez.

Báez entered the day on Tuesday slashing .271/.337/.579 with a .916 OPS, 19 homers, 51 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and 13 doubles in 61 games played. That production in itself was enough to begin the conversation and make the case for St. Louis to promote the young outfielder.

He added even more fuel to the fire on Tuesday with not one, not two, but three homers across just the first five innings of Triple-A Memphis' matchup against the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.

JOSHUA BAEZ CAN’T BE STOPPED.

He’s 3-for-3 with 3 home runs through five innings. pic.twitter.com/vHn7uKbyhr
— Kareem Haq (@KareemSSN) June 17, 2026

Now, Báez has 22 homers and 57 RBIs on the season in 62 games played. That would be a pace of 57 homers across 162 games played as well as 148 RBIs. It's safe to say that he's playing well enough to give the Cardinals a reason to promote him up to the big leagues.

The Cardinals have A Lot To Be Excited About

Mar 7, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) hits a home run in the second inning against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

For St. Louis, the biggest question isn't Báez's production at this point. There's no denying the fact at this point that his bat will play in the majors at some point. For the Cardinals, it's all about position at this point. Jordan Walker is in right field and isn't going anywhere. Nathan Church is in center field. Lars Nootbaar is in right field.

We've seen a lot of Iván Herrera at designated hitter this season when he hasn't been behind the plate. For Báez, when he does end up getting promoted to the big leagues, he's going to need consistent playing time. He's not going to be promoted just to come off the bench. That's the thing that makes the topic of a promotion for him tricky. Yes, his bat would play. Hopefully, it finds its way to the middle of the Cardinals' order this season. But who do you take out to get him on the roster? Do you move Church or Nootbaar to the bench? Unlikely. Do you take Herrera's bat out of the DH spot to open up at-bats for the young outfielder?

There isn't a clear or easy answer here. But Báez is worth all of the conversations. Again, this is a guy with 22 homers and 57 RBIs in 62 games played. That is just ridiculous. Fortunately, this is a good question for the club to have. You'd rather have too many good players, not too few.

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