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Okay Sportsfans…I get it. Some guys crush AAA pitching and never seem to break through in The Show.
But come on man, Luken Baker just hit his 30th Tater last night. In only his 97th game!!! He hit 33 last season in Memphis in only 84 games.
Sure, he’s been blocked by Goldy. But he’s a RH bat and there’s a good chance Goldy isn’t back next season.
Cards are dying vs lefties. Bring the kid up. Play him at DH & 1B the rest of this season. Let’s find out what we have here. The power appears to be legit. He may just be an inexpensive solution to our pending 1B opening in 2025.
The answer is that he does, yes. Unfortunately, the Cardinals are one of the worst teams to give him such a look. They have an aging future HOFer at 1B with a big salary who’s very durable despite his age, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for spot starters. Then you’ve got Burleson, who shouldn’t play much of anywhere besides maybe LF and 1B, but really is a DH. You’ve got Carpenter and potentially Contreras to take 1B as well. So Baker is sort of stuck. If the team was a few games worse I’d be all for throwing him in at 1B for two months to really see what’s going on there. He could be .220 guy with 180 Ks but 40 HRs over a full season, but that might be an upgrade over what we’ve got.
If Carp weren’t on the team, I would see Baker getting a chance right now. But with 13 spots for position players, it is really hard to roster 3 true DHs, which is what Burly, Carp, and Baker are. Gorman isn’t too far from being. DH type, but he likely would fare much better at 1B where he doesn’t need as much range. That leaves so little flexibility on the defensive side.
If Burly were at 1B, how is Baker viewed as “vs LHP’s” during his minors time? Is there a natural platoon with lefty bats, where Baker fills the short side?
Yeah I think a Burly/ Baker 1B platoon for next year could make sense. Also a possibility is Gorman / Baker 1B platoon with Burly at DH. It depends on if Gorman or Burly looks better at 1B. I imagine Gorman would given he is more athletic and was a 3B at one point.
Edit: Comment is specifically 2025 related as Godly is on the team for 2024 and he is not loving off 1B.
A get your foot in the door role for Baker that could grow.
1B/DH is easily filled tho, which devalues Baker some. Herrera could fill this role too, right? Walker is listed as an outfielder, but… LOL, roster crunch.
Baker is hitting .281/.410/.706 for a 1.117 OPS vs lefties, with 12 HRs in 134 PA against them this year. Last year he was at .295/.397/.631 vs southpaws, which was a little worse than against RHP. He did have 12 HR in 146 PA against the left handers.
I would think that he would be a natural platoon partner at 1B/DH.
Baker doesn’t profile to be an everyday player in the big leagues but I could see a Burly/Baker combo at 1B next year. It would save some money for the ever shrinking Cardinal payroll.
Speaking of 1B can Herrera play the position? If so he might be a good platoon candidate next year as well. Otherwise he is basically relegated to occasional DH duty or trade bait.
The Cardinals told me how they feel about Baker last year. The team was in the toilet so September would have been an ideal time to play Baker every day and see if he could adjust to MLB pitching. That didn’t happen. To bring him up now would mean jettisoning Carpenter, which isn’t going to happen.
But Baker has minor league options and is a good lineup anchor in Triple-A.
Prieto is not a candidate now. He had a great May but has been on a downward spiral since. His OPS has dropped in each of the last three months to the point he is playing less. He is batting .188 with a .426 OPS this month. He is not on the 40-man roster and would need a virtual epidemic of injuries to get a chance this season.
Also, to those who were calling for Dunn earlier, he has also slumped badly since the start of July (.175 BA last month). At least Saggese is hot right now, so if anyone gets added to the 40-man and called up, which I do not anticipate, it would be Saggese.
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I don’t get it…
We can’t hit lefties to save our lives and Baker crushes lefties. So we keep sending Gorman, Burly, Noot, Hurdy Gurdy, Marp out there against lefties and are surprised when we end up with 4 hits and no runs.
Meanwhile, Baker keeps hitting Taters.
Baker did fizzle last year in 99 PA. Couldn’t hit the ball, couldn’t catch the ball. He probably had the opening night jitters for those 99 PA. He deserves another chance.
No, that’s not really fair ATM. We’re sending Goldy and Contreras at 1B and DH vs the lefties. Pages starts a lot vs lefties, so again, roster crunch for Baker is mostly the issue.
Like Herrera, a righty bat that needs to be higher on the depth chart.
I didn’t realize Prieto had fallen off, somewhat. “At least Saggese is hot right now, so if anyone gets added to the 40-man and called up, which I do not anticipate, it would be Saggese”. That might be practical, considering how Arenado and Gorman have performed this season, overall. Next season, depending on what they want to do with Goldy, Arenado, and Gorman. An infield of Burleson, Donovan, Winn and Saggese might not be too bad. Especially, if in a rebuild mode.
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They’re simply not going to replace Goldy & Nado in 2024. And this organization
Would NEVER, EVER replace them with untested minor leaguers mid to late season.Never going to happen!
I understand Baker didn’t perform in his brief (86 ABs) stint with The Cards last season.
But isn’t 86 sporadic ABs a little too soon to give up on a guy?
Baker 2023: 86 ABs, .209 BA, .627 OPS.
Winn 2023: 122 ABs, .172 BA, .467 OPS.Funny what can happen when a kid knows he’s in the lineup everyday…
Baker batted .209/.313/.314 last year in 99 PA’s. Granted, he was hardly playing and getting sporadic AB’s.
In spring training this year, he batted .205/.250/.295 in 44 AB’s. He had more AB’s than Gorman, Donovan, Contreras, Herrera, Carpenter and Crawford.
Aside from Goldy being on the roster, his spring training performance against lesser pitchers than he would face in the regular season hurt his chances with the Cardinals this year (until they are out of it).
Also, could Wetherholt become an infield possibility for the Cardinals sometime in ’25? He’s highly touted offensively and defensively..
But isn’t 86 sporadic ABs a little too soon to give up on a guy?
He could have performed in spring training…
As long as the Cardinals are in the playoff hunt (which may be a long time due to the watered down wild card format) and as long as Goldy remains healthy, he is going to play.
Likely Baker will get another chance in the spring of 2025. I say that because with the change in September rosters, allowing just two more additions, Baker likely won’t be back up unless/until either Goldy or Carp is injured. And with Burly and Donovan able to play first, even then, seeing Baker is not a certainty. They could even play Contreras there if need be.
Is Wetherholt a first baseman? He is in Low-A right now. Why is he being mentioned in this discussion? Totally random comment.
Me too ATM, debuts can often explain the difficulty of the level jump. Burly’s seen three different mlb seasons, as has Siani. Walker and Carlson both earned demotions.
The odds are just bad.
You’ve never seen the pitcher, he’s way better than the guys you’ve been facing, and its non-stop day after day. Go get em’ tiger! LOL!If the Cardinals were out of the hunt for a WC, I would say bring up Baker and play him every day. As is, it ain’t gonna happen, and I cannot disagree with their stance. They will go with his legacy and leadership while they still have a shot.
One thing they should do though is hit Goldy lower in the lineup, especially against righties where he has been atrocious.
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