Before Cardinals prospect Joshua Baez opened the 2025 minor league season on Class High-A Peoria’s roster for a second consecutive year, the 21-year-old outfielder felt his demotion from that level last July had him on a track to "maximize" his on-field abilities.
His stint with Class Low-A Palm Beach after the demotion showed just how he could do so. His return to Class High-A this season has provided further examples.
Through 29 games in High-A to begin this season, Baez is batting .287 with a .379 on-base percentage and a .435 slugging percentage. He’s connected on two homers, six doubles, and two triples, all while cutting his strikeout rate down to 22.2% after a 37.3% strikeout rate in 71 games with Peoria led to his demotion down the Cardinals’ system last year.
At the start of Friday, the former second-round pick (54th overall) from the 2021 MLB Draft had a swinging strike percentage of 12.9%, per FanGraphs. That figure rose to 19.3% while with Peoria in 2024.
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“We toned up some mechanics back in July when they brought me down, and I was open to it,” Baez said in mid-March after playing alongside Cardinals prospects during Major League Baseball’s Spring Breakout showcase game. “I just wanted to get better. I want to show what I have, and I know that is all there. I just want to be able to help the big-league team one day.”
After his batting average dipped to .225 and his strikeout total reached 97 in Class High-A during the 2024 season, Baez was transferred to Palm Beach and placed on the development list. That designation allowed Baez to remain with Palm Beach without taking up a roster spot as he worked with Cardinals minor league coaches and coordinators at his club’s training complex in Jupiter, Florida.
Baez said he worked with minor league hitting coordinator Russ Steinhorn and assistant hitting coordinator Brock Hammit before returning to games in the final two weeks of August.
Upon his return, the 21-year-old outfielder appeared more open with his stance and displayed a more pronounced leg kick compared to what he regularly used to begin the season. That visible change eliminated the toe tap that could be seen in his stride during April and May last year. Following the adjustments, Baez batted .340 with a .959 on-base plus slugging percentage in 15 games while in Class Low-A.
“I felt like it was just a learning process just to come down and be open to work in the cages for two weeks and to adapt and to know that some changes had to be done in order to maximize myself,” Baez said during spring training. “That was exactly what I did.”
Baez added to his quick start to 2025 on Thursday with a pair of doubles and an RBI in five at-bats for Peoria. The two extra-base hits improved the 21-year-old to a .342/.457/.526 slash line through 10 games in May.
They provide two more examples of what Baez feels has “always been there” when it comes to his prospect potential.
“This is a really big year for me. I know that I have to do things, not to prove them, but to prove myself,” said Baez, who turns 22 in late June. “I know that it's always been there, so I just want to be able to showcase what I really have.”
Farm Notes
Catcher Rainiel Rodriguez continued his loud debut stateside on Thursday in the Florida Complex League by belting his fifth homer of the season and third in three consecutive games. A Dominican Summer League standout last season, Rodriguez, 18, made his stateside debut on May 3 with the FCL Cardinals. He’s batted .393 with a 1.490 on-base plus slugging percentage in nine rookie ball games.
Right-hander Max Rajcic notched a season-high seven strikeouts across 5 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday for Class AA Springfield. The outing matched Rajcic’s season high for innings and lowered his ERA from 5.61 to 4.65. Since allowing six runs in an April 26 start, the 23-year-old Rajcic has kept his opposition to two runs over his previous 15 innings.
While he’s seen his batting average dip to begin May, outfielder Chase Davis’s plate discipline has kept the 2023 first-round pick among the Texas League’s on-base percentage leaders. Two walks on Thursday for Springfield boosted Davis, 23, to a .399 on-base percentage for the season and a .388 on-base percentage in May as he’s batted .189 through 12 games this month. At the end of Thursday, Davis’s .399 on-base percentage ranked 10th among qualified Texas League hitters. The 23-year-old ranks fourth in walk rate (18.2%) and fourth in total walks (26) while batting .248 and slugging .363 for the year.
