Cardinals Prospect Joshua Báez Pushing for MLB Opportunity

The St. Louis Cardinals slugger is going to help this club at some point. But when?

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

The St. Louis Cardinals are a team that has outperformed expectations so far this season but should be even better in 2027 and beyond.

You never want to lose, of course. In a perfect world, the Cardinals would win every game from here on out throughout the rest of the season. But that's not realistic. Right now, the Cardinals are 15-13 and are ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central standings, who sit at 14-13. The Cardinals have been legit. They snapped a four-game losing streak on Monday by taking down the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2. Beforehand, the Cardinals dropped the four games in a row and none of the losses were by more than three runs. Even in losses, the Cardinals are playing solid baseball.

The vast majority of the team is younger than 30 years old. As these young guys get more experience under their belt with consistent opportunities, they're just going to get even better. If the Cardinals could be good and compete for a playoff spot later in the year, that would be great. But we're seeing the beginning of this reset period. They will be better in 2027 and beyond and one of the reasons why that is the case is because of the fact that there is more talent coming up from the minors, like No. 4 prospect Joshua Báez.

The Cardinals Slugger Will Play A Role At Some Point

Mar 7, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Joshua Baez (22) rounds the bases after hitting 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

He's not in the majors now, of course. But he's a guy with six homers and 15 RBIs in 23 games down in Triple-A. At some point, he's going to bolster this outfield and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that he doesn't believe it will take a full season in Triple-A for Báez to get the call to the majors.

"I’m not sure he needs a full season in Memphis," Goold said of Báez. "I’m always hesitant to assign a quota of games or seasons for a player, other than suggesting that he needs constant playing time – as I mentioned above with Crooks. But with that constant playing time, the promotion could come after a month, two months, or a full year.

"Let performance and need decide. Joshua Baez is having a strong season that followed a strong spring, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone in or around the Cardinals if he makes his major-league debut at some point in 2026. For sure, he’s on track to be a starter for the Cardinals in 2027."

At some point, the 22-year-old is going to add firepower to this offense. It's a matter of when, not if. For St. Louis, Jordan Walker is the right fielder. The other two spots are a bit up in the air. Victor Scott II has struggled offensively this season. Nathan Church struggled early on, but has completely turned it around. Soon enough, Lars Nootbaar will be back.

Until then, expect to see a lot of Scott and Church. After Nootbaar returns, someone is likely to lose playing time. For Báez, the Cardinals need to see what they have in the majors already before complicating playing time even further. If the Cardinals were to trade someone before the deadline this summer or an injury pops up, that would make the path clearer because you don't want to promote an elite prospect, like Báez, without a consistent role.