Cardinals' Rookie Slugger Healthy Again, Begins Play in Dominican League

Heathy again and cleared to play following the oblique strain that ended his 29-game cameo in the big leagues prematurely, St. Louis Cardinals rookie outfielder Joshua Báez saw his first action in the Dominican Winter League on Wednesday night.

Playing for Leones del Escogido, Báez started in center field and hit sixth in the order. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound slugger went 0 for 3 with a strikeout, a walk and a run scored. He drew a walk from right-hander Jhony Brito in the bottom of the second inning, moved to second base on a hit and scored on a fielding error by Toros del Este shortstop Juan Brito. Escogido held a late lead before the bullpen blew it and they lost 6-5.

Making the night extra special for Báez was the fact that it was his first Dominican Winter League game in his adopted hometown of Santo Domingo, D.R. Báez was born in Boston, but he spent much of his childhood in the Dominican Republic’s capital city. He moved back to Massachusetts at age 11 and was drafted by the in 2021 by the Cardinals as an 18-year-old prodigy.

Cardinals' Jordan Walker Named Second-Team All-MLB, Alec Burleson Snubbed

The second-round pick battled injuries and hitting struggles over his first four professional seasons before blossoming in 2025 with High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. That season, Báez hit .287 with 23 doubles, 20 home runs, 79 RBI and 54 stolen bases to lead Springfield to the Texas League championship.

That season set the stage for his 2026 breakout season. After smashing 34 home runs, driving in 90 runs and stealing 21 bases in 103 games for Triple-A Memphis, Báez was promoted to the Cardinals for his MLB debut on Aug. 15.

All the 23-year-old slugger did in his first MLB game was accomplish a jaw-dropping feat no other player in the history of the game has done. Incredibly, Báez hit homers in the first three at bats of his MLB career – the first one to center field coming on the first he ever saw, the second one a liner to left after working the count full and the third one when he went with a pick on the outside corner and drove it into the right-center basket at historic Wrigley Field.

As is the case with most rookies making the jump to the big leagues, struggles ensued. Still, the Cardinals were impressed with his ability to get his barrel on balls for hard contact.

Despite slashing just .230/.278/.510/.788 with seven homers, 18 RBI and two stolen bases, Báez posted some promising underlying metrics in 29 games. His average exit velocity (92.1 mph) and bat speed (77.5 mph) would have ranked in MLB’s top 80th percentile if he had enough at bats to qualify. Also, his hard-hit rate (47.1 percent) and barrel rate (11.8) would have been in MLB’s top 70th percentile. He also flashed stellar arm strength (90.4 mph, 86th percentile) and spring speed (29.2 fps, 92nd percentile).

Báez’s problem areas proved to be his strikeout rate (30.6 percent), chase rate (39.6 percent) and his low walk rate (3.7 percent).

Báez’s first season in the big leagues ended on Sept. 18 when he was diagnosed with a strained oblique in his left side. He went 3 for 4 with two doubles and two RBI on Sept. 11 in a win over the White Sox, but he ended the season without a hit in his final three games (0 for 12, two strikeouts).