Cardinals' Joshua Báez Nearly Matched Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s HR Total in 17 Games

When the St. Louis Cardinals promoted young slugger Joshua Báez to the big leagues, it was known that he has massive power.

This is a guy who hit 34 homers and drove in 90 runs down in Triple-A across 103 games before getting his call to the bigs. The power isn't a question. For him, the most intriguing thing is going to be seeing how it translates to the majors in the long term.

Báez put his name on the map right away as he crushed a historic three homers in his Major League Baseball debut on Aug. 15 against the Chicago Cubs. Báez became the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit three homers in their MLB debut. Obviously, that pace is impossible to maintain, but Báez has shown elite pop in just a few weeks.

Báez has played in 17 big league games and has hit six homers, including a long ball to left-center on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Joshua Báez adds on for the @Cardinals with teammate Michael McGreevy's parents on the call 🤣 pic.twitter.com/rlF3YULIyM
— MLB (@MLB) September 2, 2026

Joshua Báez Has A Bright Future

Sep 1, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez (22) celebrates after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In comparison, Jordan Walker is leading the Cardinals with 28 homers in 135 games played. Báez's six homers in 17 games would be a pace of 47 homers in 135 games. At this point, it's too early to know if he can maintain this pace. He has just 17 games of big league action under his belt. But he's crushing homers at an elite level.

One thing that's a bit wild is the fact that in just 17 games, Báez has hit just one fewer homer than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, who has hit seven long balls in 124 games played.

Joshua Baez has almost caught Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in home runs, despite playing 106 fewer games 🤯 https://t.co/bz9ABeqA8x pic.twitter.com/POhL4Q9783
— Novig (@Novig) September 2, 2026

Guerrero suddenly being zapped of power this season has been shocking, to say the least. From 2021 through the 2025 season, he hit 159 long balls, which is an average of 31.8 homers per season. Plus, he led the American League with 48 homers in 2021. This is a guy with serious power, but Báez has just one fewer homer, despite playing 103 games down in Triple-A.

Now, of course, Báez has work to do. He's batting .175 and has a .238 on-base percentage. When he makes contact, the ball is going a long way. But he has just four base hits that aren't homers. And he's walked just three times. To unlock his full potential, he needs to get those numbers up. In the minors, he batted .256 with a .328 on-base percentage. Right now, he's already on an elite home run pace. Imagine if he could start putting the ball in play more? That pace could be even higher.

This is his first taste of big league action. There have been some massively positive bright spots, as well as a few low points. That's going to happen with rookie adjusting to the big league game on the fly. The future is bright, though. If he can continue to hit homers at this pace, the Cardinals will have another superstar on their hands.

Add us as a preferred source on Google