Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Jesús Báez Powers His Way Back Into the Spotlight

The Cardinal Chronicle
Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold: Jesús Báez Powers His Way Back Into the Spotlight
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 with a familiar name doing serious damage at Double-A.

Jesús Báez did not just have a good week. He had the kind of week that reminds everyone why the power has always been such a major part of his prospect profile.

This weekly report is not designed to rewrite the prospect board every seven days. A hot week does not make a player a finished product, and a cold week does not erase the tools that put a player on the map. But performance still matters, and each week gives us another look at who is trending up, who is adjusting and who needs to turn the page.

Here are three hitters and three pitchers trending up, followed by three hitters and three pitchers looking to bounce back.

Who’s Hot — Hitters

Jesús Báez, SS, Springfield Cardinals

Báez was the clear offensive headliner this week.

In four games for Double-A Springfield, Báez went 6-for-16 with six runs, one double, four home runs, eight RBIs and one walk. He hit .375 with a 1.599 OPS.

That is big-boy damage.

The four home runs jump off the page, but the eight RBIs and six runs scored show how much impact he had on the Springfield lineup. Báez has always had the kind of raw power that can change a game with one swing, and this week he did it repeatedly.

There are still parts of the offensive profile that need polish, but when Báez is driving the baseball like this, the upside becomes hard to ignore.

Ryan Weingartner, 3B, Palm Beach Cardinals

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

In four games for Low-A Palm Beach, he went 6-for-13 with six runs, two home runs, five RBIs, three walks and four stolen bases. He hit .462 with a 1.486 OPS.

That is a full box score.

Weingartner hit for average, hit for power, reached base, scored runs and created pressure with his legs. The four stolen bases are especially notable because they show he was not just waiting around for someone else to drive him in.

When a player produces in that many different ways over a four-game stretch, he earns a spot on the hot list.

Won-Bin Cho, CF, Springfield Cardinals

Cho earns the third spot after a strong power week at Double-A.

In four games for Springfield, Cho went 6-for-17 with five runs, three home runs, five RBIs and one walk. He hit .353 with a 1.271 OPS.

Cho has long had the athletic frame and tools to be interesting, but weeks like this matter because they show impact. Three home runs in four games at Double-A is not background noise. That is production against advanced pitching.

The power has not always been the loudest part of Cho’s profile, but when it shows up like this, the offensive ceiling looks a lot more interesting.

Also worth noting: Tre Richardson III had only three hits, but two of them left the yard, and he added seven RBIs and four stolen bases. José Suárez went 12-for-24 with four doubles and a .500 average at High-A. Cade McGee also had a strong week, hitting .417 with two home runs and a 1.450 OPS.

Who’s Hot — Pitchers

Mason Molina, RHP, Memphis Redbirds

Molina delivered the best upper-level pitching performance of the week.

In 6.2 scoreless innings for Triple-A Memphis, he allowed five hits, walked two and struck out six. He finished with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.

That is a strong response at a difficult level.

Triple-A lineups can punish mistakes quickly, but Molina kept the game under control. The six strikeouts were solid, but the most important part was the zero in the earned-run column. He worked deep, limited damage and gave Memphis exactly what it needed.

For a pitcher trying to stay in the larger organizational conversation, outings like this matter.

Bruce Zimmermann, LHP, Memphis Redbirds

Zimmermann continues to be one of the more useful depth arms in the system.

In six scoreless innings for Memphis, he allowed four hits, walked one and struck out six. He finished with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

That is clean work from a veteran left-hander.

Zimmermann may not be viewed the same way as a younger prospect, but performance at Triple-A still counts. He threw strikes, avoided big innings and gave the Redbirds a quality start. Over the course of a long season, that kind of stability has value.

Depth does not always get the headlines, but clubs never stop needing it.

Jack Martinez, RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals

Martinez earns a spot after missing bats and controlling traffic.

In six innings for Low-A Palm Beach, Martinez allowed four hits, two earned runs and one walk while striking out nine. He posted a 3.00 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP.

The ERA was not spotless, but the rest of the line was strong. Nine strikeouts against one walk is the kind of ratio that gets attention.

Martinez did not dominate the scoreboard the way Molina and Zimmermann did, but he attacked hitters, limited baserunners and showed swing-and-miss ability. That is a good week.

Also worth noting: Quinn Mathews allowed just one hit and struck out seven over 5.1 innings for Memphis, though four walks and one home run kept him just outside the top three. Scott Blewett was sharp in relief, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

Who’s Cold — Hitters

Cameron Nickens, LF, Peoria Chiefs

Nickens had the toughest offensive week on the board.

In three games for High-A Peoria, he went 1-for-11 with one run, one RBI, no walks and four strikeouts. He hit .091 with a .182 OPS.

That is a hard week to dress up.

The lack of walks and extra-base damage made it difficult to create any offensive value. When a hitter is not reaching base and not driving the ball, the week gets cold in a hurry.

Nickens has enough ability to bounce back, but this was a week to flush.

Matt Koperniak, LF, Memphis Redbirds

Koperniak also lands on the cold side after a quiet Triple-A stretch.

In three games for Memphis, he went 1-for-10 with no runs, no RBIs, no walks and one strikeout. He hit .100 with a .200 OPS.

The strikeout number was not the problem. The issue was the lack of impact. There were not enough hits, not enough baserunners and not enough damage.

Koperniak has been around long enough to understand how quickly a week can turn. This one simply did not go his way.

Sebastian Dos Santos, SS, Palm Beach Cardinals

Dos Santos had a rough week after being one of the hotter Low-A bats in previous reports.

In four games for Palm Beach, he went 1-for-15 with two runs, one RBI, three walks and six strikeouts. He hit .067 with a .289 OPS.

The three walks helped keep the week from being completely empty, but the contact issues were hard to ignore. Six strikeouts in 15 at-bats is the number that stands out.

For a young hitter, this is part of the grind. Pitchers adjust, and then hitters have to answer back.

Also worth noting: César Prieto went 1-for-10 at Triple-A with a .282 OPS, while Jalin Flores struck out 10 times in 20 at-bats at High-A. Luis Pino also had a quiet week despite drawing three walks.

Who’s Cold — Pitchers

Blake Aita, RHP, Peoria Chiefs

Aita had the roughest pitching line of the week.

In 3.2 innings for High-A Peoria, he allowed eight hits, five earned runs, two walks and two home runs while striking out five. He finished with a 12.27 ERA and a 2.73 WHIP.

The strikeouts were there, but so was the damage.

Eight hits and two home runs in less than four innings is a tough combination to survive. Aita still showed some swing-and-miss, but too many pitches found too much barrel.

This was not a lack-of-stuff problem. It was a command-and-execution problem.

Domenic Picone, RHP, Springfield Cardinals

Picone also had a difficult week at Double-A.

In three innings for Springfield, he allowed six hits, four earned runs and one walk while striking out five. He finished with a 12.00 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP.

The five strikeouts are worth noting, but the traffic and run prevention put him on the cold side.

At Double-A, hitters are too good to let rallies build. Picone missed bats, but he also gave up too many hits in too short of a window. That is how a line can get away quickly.

Nathan Shinn, RHP, Palm Beach Cardinals

Shinn’s week was undone by free passes.

In 3.1 innings for Palm Beach, he allowed six hits, four earned runs and five walks while striking out two. He posted a 10.80 ERA and a 3.30 WHIP.

The five walks are the number that matters most.

Hits happen. Even good pitchers give those up. But when hits and walks stack together, innings get long and damage follows. Shinn needs to get back to strike one and make hitters earn their way on base.

Also worth noting: Pete Hansen allowed four earned runs in four innings for Memphis, while Yhoiker Fajardo gave up four earned runs and two home runs in 4.1 innings at High-A. Jack Findlay had an unusual line, allowing no hits but still giving up four runs, three earned, after walking four.

Old School Take

This week belonged to the bats at Springfield and Palm Beach.

Jesús Báez put together the loudest week in the system, and four home runs in four games at Double-A will get attention. Ryan Weingartner showed a little bit of everything at Palm Beach, while Won-Bin Cho added a power surge of his own at Springfield.

On the mound, Molina and Zimmermann gave Memphis two strong upper-level starts, and Martinez showed swing-and-miss ability at Low-A.

The cold side was a reminder that the minor leagues do not move in a straight line. Some players are building momentum. Some are adjusting. Some are learning that last week’s success does not cash this week’s check.

That is baseball.

The box score is not the whole story, but it is still part of the story.

Performance still gets a vote at the Cardinal Chronicle.