Cardinals' Luken Baker: Gets first big-league promotion
Rotowire
The Cardinals selected Baker's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. He'll serve as St. Louis' designated hitter and No. 7 batter in his MLB debut in the Cardinals' series finale with the Pirates and left-hander Rich Hill.
The 26-year-old earned his first big-league call-up after slashing .313/.434/.641 with 29 extra-base hits (18 home runs, 11 doubles) to go with an impressive 17.8 percent walk rate and 21.7 percent strikeout rate over 244 plate appearances with Memphis. Though his bat certainly looks big-league ready, Baker's lack of defensive flexibility may hurt his chances of earning a permanent role with the Cardinals. He's played only at first base in the minors, and with reigning National League MVP Paul Goldschmidt already entrenched at that position, Baker's path to playing time will likely come solely at designated hitter. Baker is further hurt by the fact that he's a right-handed hitter, potentially relegating him to the short side of a platoon.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Leads Triple-A in home runs
Rotowire
Baker, 26, leads all Triple-A hitters with 14 home runs and has a .302/.436/.669 slash line in 39 games for Memphis.
The rule for players like Baker who will provide zero or negative defensive value is that they need to hit a lot at every level on their path to the majors, and Baker failed in that respect last year at Triple-A, slashing .228/.288/.394 in 124 games. However, he's been so good this season that he can't be completely written off as a Quadruple-A hitter. His 40 percent hard-hit rate and 11.6 percent soft-hit rate are excellent marks, and his 0.80 BB/K is the best ratio of his career. Even so, Baker is stuck behind Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Alec Burleson on the organizational depth chart at first base and designated hitter for now.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Transferred to Triple-A
Rotowire
Baker was promoted to Triple-A Memphis on Monday.
Baker returned from the injured list in early September and slashed .286/.333/.518 with three homers, eight runs and seven RBI across 13 games since then. Double-A Springfield has wrapped up its season, so the 24-year-old's promotion will allow him to get a few extra weeks of game action in Memphis prior to the end of the regular season.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Returns from IL
Rotowire
Baker has gone 2-for-8 with a pair of doubles and a run in his two games for Double-A Springfield since being reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list Saturday.
The 24-year-old first baseman was sidelined for just over three weeks due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Baker has played exclusively at Springfield this season, hitting .241 with 23 home runs and 61 RBI in 80 games.
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Cardinals' Luken Baker: Heads to COVID-19 IL
Rotowire
Double-A Springfield placed Baker on the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday.
Springfield is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak among its roster, as six players were placed on the injured list Tuesday. The affiliate hasn't announced whether Baker's placement on the IL is the result of him testing positive for the coronavirus, or if he was merely identified as a close contact of an infected person or persons. Over 78 games with Springfield this season, Baker is slashing .247/.327/.545 with 23 home runs and 60 RBI.
Baker will join the Cardinals' big-league camp this spring.
Baker may get some at-bats against big-league pitching in the preseason, but he's not likely to be a candidate for regular-season at-bats just yet. He's yet to advance beyond High-A, where he hit .244/.327/.390 (good for a 115 wRC+) in 122 games for Palm Beach last season.
