Cardinals 22-Year-Old Outfielder Called Player to Watch After Big Spring

The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of talent in their farm system this season...

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

The St. Louis Cardinals opted for a major rebuild this offseason, kicking it off by trading Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado, and Brendan Donovan in four separate blockbuster deals.

The Cardinals have loaded up their farm system with young talent, though. These moves may have taken the team back a bit right now, but the future is much brighter. Some of the prospects they added in the trades are already working their way to the big leagues. But there are also some prospects who have been in their system for years who are now banging on the door of a big league debut.

Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com recently put together a list of one Triple-A prospect from each team that fans should keep tabs on this season. For the Cardinals, they listed outfielder Joshua Baez, who's coming off a very impressive spring training with the big league club.

Joshua Baez already turning heads this spring

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

"Báez put his major contact issues in the past and broke out with 20 homers and 54 steals across High-A and Double-A in 2025," they wrote. "That earned him a spot on both the Top 100 and the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, and after he continued to show more power this spring, there were even some calls from fans for him to jump straight to the bigs as St. Louis’ Opening Day right fielder. The Cardinals have cautioned that they still want to see the 6-foot-3 right-handed slugger dominate Triple-A before getting that aggressive with him, but with his mechanical adjustments and loud contact, it may not be a long stay in Memphis anyway."

There were few players in Cardinals spring training who were as impactful as Baez. Baez seemingly made loud contact in all 21 at-bats. While he didn't actually record 21 hard hit balls, it seemed like every time he would come up, it would be hit hard.

As a result, he had three home runs and five RBI in 10 games. The sample size is too small to draw any real conclusions, but it's certainly enough to make fans excited.

With Lars Nootbaar on the 60-day injured list and Jordan Walker remaining as a big question mark, Baez could find his way to the big leagues sooner rather than later.