Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Báez’s Power Surge Leads Weekly Prospect Watch

The Cardinal Chronicle
Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Báez’s Power Surge Leads Weekly Prospect Watch
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Friday brings another look around the Cardinals’ minor league system, and this week’s Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold report starts in Memphis, where Joshua Báez has turned a good week into the kind of power surge that forces people to pay attention.

The purpose of this feature is simple. It is a weekly snapshot, not a final verdict. A hot week does not make a finished product, and a cold week does not bury a prospect. Baseball has a long memory, but the box scores still tell us where the momentum is moving right now.

Here are three hitters and three pitchers trending up, followed by three hitters and three pitchers looking to turn the page.

Who’s Hot — Hitters

Joshua Báez, CF, Memphis Redbirds

Báez is the clear headliner this week.

In five games at Triple-A, Báez went 9-for-22 with eight runs, one double, one triple, five home runs, 11 RBIs, three walks and only four strikeouts. He hit .409 with a staggering 1.707 OPS.

That is not just a hot week. That is a Triple-A bat kicking the door frame.

The most encouraging part is not just the home run total, though five homers in five games will get anybody’s attention. It is the damage across the board. Báez drove in runs, scored runs, hit for extra bases and kept the strikeouts under control. For a power prospect, that last part matters.

Won-Bin Cho, CF, Peoria Chiefs

Cho put together one of the best all-around weeks in the system.

In four games for High-A Peoria, Cho went 6-for-12 with three doubles, two triples, seven RBIs, three walks and two stolen bases. He hit .500 with a 1.708 OPS.

There was a little bit of everything here: contact, patience, speed, gap power and run production. Cho did not homer, but he still produced five extra-base hits in just 12 at-bats. That is how a player impacts a game without needing to leave the yard.

Tre Richardson III, DH, Peoria Chiefs

Richardson gets the third spot because of the blend of power, speed and production.

In four games, he went 6-for-16 with six runs, one triple, two home runs, five RBIs and three stolen bases. He hit .375 with a 1.250 OPS.

That is a strong offensive week by any measure. Richardson created pressure in multiple ways, and when a hitter can drive the ball while also taking extra bases, he becomes harder to game-plan against.

Also worth noting: Luis Pino had a strong case here after hitting .538 with two homers and a 1.702 OPS. That is the kind of week that usually lands a player in the top three. This week, the board was just crowded.

Who’s Hot — Pitchers

Mason Molina, Springfield Cardinals

Molina gets the nod at the top among pitchers this week.

In 10 innings at Double-A, he allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out 13. He posted a 0.90 ERA and 0.80 WHIP.

That is a clean, efficient week at an advanced level. The five walks keep it from being spotless, but the overall body of work was strong. When a pitcher allows only three hits over 10 innings and misses bats at that rate, he is doing more than surviving.

Pete Hansen, Memphis Redbirds

Hansen continues to give Memphis quality work.

In 10 innings at Triple-A, he allowed seven hits, one earned run, one walk and struck out 11. He finished the week with a 0.90 ERA and 0.80 WHIP.

The one walk stands out. That kind of command plays. Hansen did not overpower the week with gaudy velocity or wild swings, but he filled up the strike zone, limited damage and gave the Redbirds exactly what they needed.

Cade Crossland, Palm Beach Cardinals

Crossland’s ERA was higher than the others on the hot list, but the full line earns him a spot.

In 14.1 innings for Palm Beach, he allowed nine hits, seven earned runs, four walks and struck out 22. He finished with a 4.40 ERA but an excellent 0.91 WHIP.

The run prevention was not perfect, but the workload and strikeouts were too strong to ignore. Twenty-two strikeouts in 14.1 innings tells the story. Crossland missed bats, worked deep enough to matter and showed the kind of swing-and-miss profile that deserves attention.

Who’s Cold — Hitters

Daniel Rojas, RF, Palm Beach Cardinals

Rojas had a rough week at the plate.

In four games, he went 3-for-17 with one double, no RBIs, no walks and six strikeouts. He hit .176 with a .412 OPS.

The lack of walks is the key concern here. When the hits are not falling, a hitter needs to find another way to reach base and keep innings moving. This week, Rojas did not do enough of that.

Christian Martin, LF, Peoria Chiefs

Martin also lands on the cold side after a quiet week in High-A.

He went 3-for-16 with one double, no RBIs, no walks and five strikeouts. His line finished at .188 with a .438 OPS.

There is no reason to overreact to four games, but it was a low-impact stretch. The next step is simple: get back to controlling the zone and force pitchers to work.

Rainiel Rodriguez, C, Springfield Cardinals

This is not a panic item. It is just a cold week for one of the organization’s better young prospects.

Rodriguez went 3-for-13 with two runs, one RBI, one walk and six strikeouts for Springfield. He hit .231 with a .516 OPS.

For a young catcher adjusting at Double-A, weeks like this are part of the climb. The strikeouts were the issue. Rodriguez remains a major prospect, but this week belongs on the cold side because the production and contact were not there.

Who’s Cold — Pitchers

Edwin Núñez, Springfield Cardinals

Núñez had the toughest pitching line in the system this week.

In one inning at Double-A, he allowed six hits, seven earned runs and three walks while striking out two. His ERA for the week was 63.00 with a 9.00 WHIP.

There is no need to dress that up. It was a bad outing. The good news is that relievers can turn the page quickly. The next appearance matters more than the last line.

Nate Dohm, Peoria Chiefs

Dohm had a difficult week for High-A Peoria.

In 3.1 innings, he allowed eight hits, 10 earned runs and four walks while striking out four. He finished with a 27.00 ERA and 3.60 WHIP.

The walks and hits piled up together, and that is usually where outings get away fast. Dohm has the arm to be better than this, but this was a week to reset.

Leonel Sequera, Peoria Chiefs

Sequera’s week was hurt by traffic and the long ball.

In 7.1 innings, he allowed 12 hits, 13 earned runs, six walks and five home runs. He did strike out 10, but the damage was heavy: a 15.95 ERA and 2.45 WHIP.

The strikeouts show there is still stuff in the tank, but five home runs in 7.1 innings is the kind of number that demands correction. Keeping the ball in the yard has to be the first order of business.

Old School Take

Báez was the story of the week, and there is no need to overcomplicate it. Five home runs in five games at Triple-A will make the front office look twice, whether they admit it publicly or not.

On the pitching side, Molina and Hansen gave the system two strong upper-level performances, while Crossland’s strikeout total made his week hard to ignore even with the earned runs attached.

As for the cold side, this is baseball. Everybody gets a bad week. The trick is not avoiding those weeks altogether. The trick is keeping one bad week from becoming two.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports and MiLBToday.com 
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