Joshua Baez May Be the Next Big Thing in St. Louis

The Cardinals may have a star on their hands

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 continue to truck along in year one of their rebuild under Chaim Bloom. A lot of their younger players have emerged and taken over starting spots, which has given the ballclub a big boost offensively.

Nathan Church is now the starting center fielder, while Blaze Jordan has taken over at third base. But they may not be the last young stars to emerge for St. Louis this year.

Outfielder Joshua Baez is raking down at Triple-A Memphis, and it may not be long before he ends up in St. Louis. Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently raved about Baez's potential and what he could bring to the Cardinals.

"The power is real. It's foul pole to foul pole, it's got backspin. You make a mistake and he's going to crush it, but he can beat you not just with the power. He can beat you with the legs and he can beat you with the arm," Bowden said. "You think about Jordan Walker in right and Baez in left, there's the next Cardinals star ready."

Joshua Baez is coming

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez (22) takes batting practice during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Baez has a ton of power from the right side of the plate, and the Cardinals need more right-handed power on their roster. Jordan has helped with that some, but Baez could bring more to the table for St. Louis.

The team's No. 3 prospect is hitting .274/.343/.626 with 25 home runs, 64 RBI and a .969 OPS. There is a lot for Cardinals fans to be excited about as they look towards the future and see what Baez can do. He brings a lot of power and could be the next big thing in St. Louis.

The Cardinals aren't likely to go out and grab a marquee player at the trade deadline, but because of Baez's potential, they may not need to. He can play all three outfield positions and has a lot of tools at his disposal, and it's going to be hard to justify keeping him down in the minor leagues for much longer.

There simply is too much potential with Baez for him to stay down for much longer, and the Cardinals have a clear spot waiting for him on the roster, so it will be very interesting to see where things end up in the next few weeks.

Bowden likes what he sees, and Cardinals fans may soon be saying the same things.