This humble St. Louis Cardinals elite prospect brings power, MLB dreams to Peoria Chiefs

PEORIA — Josh Baez could throw 98 mph in high school, ran the fastest 60 dash time in the nation among prep players (6.4 seconds) and once hit a 550-foot home run — all at an imposing 6-foot-4, 235 pounds.

He didn't start playing baseball until he was 9 years old and even then, not at an organized level until he was 11. He ended up playing on a Boston elite travel team with 18- and 19-year-old players — at age 14. As a young sandlot player, the St. Louis Cardinals' No. 29-ranked prospect and Peoria Chiefs outfielder had no idea how good he was.

"I was born in Boston and then my family moved to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic when I was an infant," said Baez, 20. "I didn't really play baseball until one day my mom took me to a practice there. There were 100 kids there, and they were great, I was scared and struggled and I remember striking out a lot."

But he stuck with it, and when he was in sixth grade the Baez family moved back to Boston and the pitcher-outfielder-slugger discovered everything was different.

"The ballparks were smaller, the players were smaller and the pitching was not as good," he said. "When I was in the Dominican Republic, I felt that I wasn't very good. But here, I was hitting home runs every game and dominated and everything changed."

Baez is a big part of a Peoria Chiefs team that is 13-22 in the Midwest League so far in 2024 and in the midst of a 12-game homestand against Western Michigan and Cedar Rapids through May 26 at Dozer Park.

South End Little League

He joined the sixth grade in Boston without knowing a word of English, and used Google translate to help with his school work and within two years was speaking fluently.

When his mother brought him back to Boston, the family moved into the Dorchester neighborhood and Baez began a journey he hopes will make him the first Boston baseball player to be drafted out of high school and reach the major leagues since Manny Delcarmen in 2005.

He rode buses and trains to practices and games, took batting practice in 25-degree weather and trained relentlessly. When he was 12, he won the state home run derby and won the state's season home run crown.

But the family couldn't afford the cost of advanced training programs and travel teams and baseball skill development programs.

"My mother (Yris) cleaned banks and drove Uber and I'd go with her to help out any way I could," Baez said. "She earned a business management degree while she was in the DR, and she did the best she could for us."

His father, Jose Manuel, was a professional baseball and softball player in the DR. He died in June of 2023.

Baez says he reached a crossroads with Christian Ortiz, a co-founder of Next Level Boston Sports and its Boston Blue Jays travel team. Ortiz founded his program to give lower-income kids an affordable place to play competitive travel baseball and get exposure in front of college coaches.

Baez was brought to him at age 13 by the commissioner of the South End Little League, and put on the only roster that had an opening — the under-19 squad. They would practice or play daily, and Baez would work out six times a week. After practices, he sold water bottles at intersections to fund a team trip to Florida.

"Christian Ortiz is a guy who really lifted me up," Baez said. "I developed so much through him, gained weight, gained strength, confidence.

"And I believed baseball could be my dream."

The journey accelerates

In his age 15 year, Baez went from 165 pounds to 205, added 17 mph to his fastball and collected invites to national tournaments and showcases. A college scout saw him hit a home run during one of those tournaments, and national powerhouse Vanderbilt recruited him with an offer.

Baez made the varsity as a freshman at Cristo Rey High School, helped Snowden High win the Boston city championship as a sophomore, then moved on to Dexter High School, where coach Dan Donato said he hit a 550-foot home run during the Area Code Games that cleared the scoreboard and left a Class-AA pro ballpark in Hartford.

When the 2021 MLB Draft arrived, Baez was taken in the second round (54th overall) by the Cardinals. The right-handed power hitter signed for $2.25 million. He bought a house in Florida so he can work out year-round.

"I didn't get picked right away on draft day," Baez said. "But my agent called me in the second round and said, 'Cardinals are going to take you.'

"You wait for that moment your whole life. I remember the call, I remember a bottle of champagne popping open and my family screaming and celebrating."

MLB scouts rate Baez's power as a double-plus. The Cardinals have him playing right field, and he's hitting .220 with two home runs and 11 stolen bases in 28 games so far for Peoria.

At low-A Palm Beach in 2023, Baez slashed .218/.341/.383 with seven homers and 30 steals in 91 games. His average exit velocity was 106.6 mph, third-best among Florida State League players with at least 250 plate appearances.

Big-league dreams

Josh Baez was once a pitcher, now a power-hitting outfielder whose future might come down to whether he can add enough contact to reach the majors.

Asked what major league pitcher he'd love to face some day, Baez named elite closer Josh Hader, now with the Astros. "I love left-handed pitchers," Baez said, grinning. "I think he would be a good matchup for me. It's a challenge I'd love to have."

One step at a time. With double-plus power and a plus-arm, prospect-rating organizations project a 2026 arrival to the majors.

"I'm so grateful to be signed and have this opportunity," Baez said. "And I'm grateful to be from the neighborhood I'm from in Boston, to be from a humble family and I feel blessed to be where I am in my journey today."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: St. Louis Cardinals baseball prospect brings power, MLB dream to Peoria