Joshua Báez turned Tuesday into the kind of night that changes a conversation. He hit four home runs for Triple-A Memphis against the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, finishing with his fourth blast after going deep three times in the first five innings.
That is why his name is getting attention now. Báez is the St. Louis Cardinals' No. 3 overall prospect, and the production has become too loud to ignore. Entering Tuesday, he was hitting.271/.337/.579 with a.916 OPS, 19 homers, 51 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 13 doubles in 61 games. By the time the game was over, his line had climbed to 22 homers and 57 RBIs in 62 games.
The power output is not the problem. The fit is. The Cardinals' biggest question with Báez is not whether the bat can play in the majors, but where the at-bats would come from if he gets the call. Jordan Walker is in right field, Nathan Church is in center field, Lars Nootbaar is in right field, and Iván Herrera has been used at designated hitter this season when he has not been behind the plate. Those are the places Báez would have to work around.
That is what makes Tuesday matter beyond the box score. A four-homer game can sharpen the case for a promotion, but it does not solve the roster math. If the Cardinals decide Báez is ready, they still have to answer the harder question of who sits, and that question is now part of the story as much as the homers are.
