Joshua Báez honored his late father with a historic night. He hit four home runs on the third anniversary of his father’s death. The St. Louis Cardinals’ No. 3 prospect could not have had a better tribute on Tuesday. His father, José Manuel, was a baseball and softball player. He inspired Joshua to play the sport for a living. On the third anniversary of his passing, the 22-year-old phenom had an amazing game for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

Báez had a great season last year with 20 home runs. This year, his power has grown even more. He already has 23 home runs in just 62 games.

“I was just feeling him the whole time,” People.com quoted Báez, 22. “I think that he guided me today to be able to do that.”

The incredible night started early. In the first inning, Báez hit a huge three-run home run off Nashville Sounds pitcher Brett Wichrowski. A nasty slider met with a 108.2 mph exit velocity resulted in a shot over the fence. In his next at-bat, a 408-foot laser went over the centerfield off a fastball by the same pitcher. The pitch was well above the strike zone, but it didn’t matter for Báez.

His third came in the fifth when a solo hit went over the fence off a slider by Kaleb Bowman. The last one was in the eighth inning, totaling 1,510 feet of home runs on Tuesday. You are not alone if you feel it is insane.

“He hit that one to the stars,” Memphis broadcaster Alex Coil said. “He hit that one to his dad.”

“It’s not about me at all,” he added, “but hinting at some supernatural presence, hitting the ball past the moon and Mars, the meteoric rise, that home run, that swing, and how he watched it off the bat, all of it, it was really cool to see.”

According to MLB.com, a four-homer night made Báez the 14th minor leaguer since 2005 to do so. For the Redbirds, he is the first. But he is not the only Cardinals prospect to reach this rare milestone. He joins Chandler Redmond, who hit four homers for Double-A Springfield in 2022, and Tyrone Horne, who did it for Double-A Arkansas back in 1998.

The best moment in Báez’s career came on a night he never expected to experience.

“Today was just really emotional,” Báez said. “I was just trying to push through, and it’s just insane I was able to hit four home runs in one night.” “It’s very emotional,” Báez’s mother, Yris, agreed. “I knew he was here with him from the sky down. He was able to give him the strength. I could feel it through the whole night.”

With 23 home runs already, fans are wondering if the Cardinals will call up their hot young prospect soon.

The Cardinals may not rush with Joshua Báez

The Cardinals are currently second in the NL Central with a 40-32 record. The team ranks 13th in terms of average (.245) and 15th in terms of total runs (326). So, maybe they don’t have the sudden need to promote Báez, but if the divisional rivalry gets intense late in the season, they might call him up.

“I’m in Memphis,” Joshua Báez said. “I’d rather be nowhere else right now, because the team needs me. We’re in a playoff push, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.” While he is focused on Memphis’ playoff push, his current .282/.345/.631 slashline offers a great value for the Cardinals. However, Báez’s higher strikeouts could pose a hurdle to his promotion.

Currently, Báez strikes out 31% of the time. His walk rate is only 7%. This would be something a deal-breaker for the Cardinals. According to MLB insider Gabe Simonds, a batter with a 30%+ SO rate would not be productive enough despite his insane power-hitting. It would be better for the Cardinals to wait with their top prospect and develop him further for a better MLB debut, maybe next year.