Cardinals Rising Slugger Leads Minor Leagues In Home Runs

St. Louis has a promising power hitter in the making

Scott Neville | Aug 7, 2023

Cardinals Rising Slugger Leads Minor Leagues In Home Runs /

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have an elite power hitter in the organization, who has taken a commanding lead for the minor league home run title.

Despite his incredible offensive production this season, St. Louis appears quite hesitant to find a role with him on the big-league club.

First baseman Luken Baker is hitting .337 with 52 extra-base hits including 31 home runs, 89 RBIs and a 1.162 OPS in 80 games for Triple-A Memphis in a major breakout season.

His 31 bombs give Baker a four-homer lead over Boston Red Sox minor leaguer Bobby Dalbec, who has settled in with 27. Baker is the top home run hitter over 1221 minor leaguers, and he's doing it just one level below the big leagues.

The 26-year-old has only been called up once this season. He appeared in just seven games and went 5-for-19 (.263) before being sent down. The reigning National League MVP, Paul Goldschmidt, currently mans his position and Nolan Gorman/Jordan Walker have logged a lot of time in the designated hitter role, leaving little room for Baker. That said, it's time to give the kid a shot, as he's playing at an elite level just one step down from the big leagues.

The biggest issue Baker has is the defensive deficiencies of both Gorman and Walker.

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Published Aug 7, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu