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Luken Baker

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Luken Baker
Baker with the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2019
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 26
First baseman
Born: (1997-03-10) March 10, 1997 (age 27)
Spring, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 4, 2023, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.198
Home runs4
Runs batted in20
Teams

Luken Grosvenor Baker (born March 10, 1997) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

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Baker attended Oak Ridge High School in Conroe, Texas, alongside Durbin Feltman. In July 2014, he won the Junior Home Run Derby at Target Field.[1][2] He later won the Home Run Derby at the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.[3] As a senior, he was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.[4][5][6]

Baker was considered an early round prospect for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, but emailed major league teams telling them that he would not sign and would instead attend Texas Christian University (TCU) to play college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs.[7][8] The Houston Astros still selected him in the 37th round that same year, and he did not sign, enrolling at TCU.[9]

In 2016, as a freshman at TCU, Baker was named the Big 12 Conference's Freshman of the Year.[10] He started all 67 of TCU's games, batting .379 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs.[11] As a sophomore in 2017, Baker played 47 games before he suffered a left arm injury during a collision at first base that ended his season. In those 47 games, he batted .317 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs,[12] earning him a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team.[13] Baker returned healthy in 2018 for his junior season, but his season was cut short again after 31 games after he fractured his left fibula and tore a ligament during a slide, requiring season-ending surgery.[14]

Professional career

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The St. Louis Cardinals selected Baker in the second round, with the 75th overall pick, in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft and signed with them for $800,000.[15][16] He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals, and, after batting .500 in eight games, and was promoted to the Peoria Chiefs.[17] In 37 games for the Chiefs to finish the season, he hit .288 with three home runs and 15 RBIs.[18]

Baker spent the 2019 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals.[19] After hitting .346 with four home runs and a 1.067 OPS in the month of August, he earned Florida State League Player of the Month honors.[20] He finished the year slashing .244/.327/.390 with ten home runs and 53 RBIs over 122 games.[21] Baker did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Baker was assigned to the Springfield Cardinals to begin the 2021 season.[23] He missed nearly all of August and the beginning of September while on the injured list.[24] Over 91 games for Springfield, Baker slashed .248/.322/.530 with 26 home runs and 68 RBIs.[25] In mid-September, he was promoted to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A East with whom he appeared in two games to end the season.[26]

Baker returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.[27] In 124 contests, Baker slashed .228/.289/.394 with 21 home runs and 66 RBIs.[28]

The Cardinals assigned Baker to Memphis to begin the 2023 season. In 54 games, he batted .313/.434/.641 with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs. On June 4, 2023, Baker was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He was slotted into the starting lineup as the designated hitter, batting seventh against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[29] In 33 games during his rookie campaign, Baker hit .209/.313/.314 with two home runs and 10 RBI. After the season, he won the International League Most Valuable Player Award.[30]

Baker was optioned to Triple–A Memphis to begin the 2024 season.[31]

References

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  1. ^ "Baseball: Oak Ridge's Luken Baker wins Junior Home Run Derby at Target Field". Blog.chron.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "BASEBALL: Oak Ridge's Baker advances to finals of MLB Junior Select Home Run Derby". Yourwoodlandsnews.com. July 13, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "High school baseball: Oak Ridge riding power-hitting pitcher". Houston Chronicle. February 22, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  4. ^ "Oak Ridge's Luken Baker named Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year". Blog.chron.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  5. ^ "BASEBALL: Baker named Gatorade National Player of the Year". Yourconroenews.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  6. ^ Chad Konecky, Special to USA TODAY High School Sports (June 2, 2015). "Oak Ridge's Luken Baker wins Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year". Khou.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  7. ^ "Luken Baker, Ryan Johnson To Pass On Draft". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  8. ^ "Oak Ridge baseball star Baker eyes college over draft cash". Houston Chronicle. June 3, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  9. ^ http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/sports/baseball-former-oak-ridge-star-baker-off-to-scorching-start/article_db2caedf-41b2-5ed6-bb8a-c44622a8ea01.html [dead link‍]
  10. ^ Mendezcmendez, Carlos (May 24, 2016). "TCU baseball's Luken Baker Big 12 freshman of the year". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. ^ Triebwasser, Melissa B. (December 12, 2017). "Luken Baker, Sean Wymer named to Top 100 Collegiate Prospects list". Frogsowar.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. ^ "State Sports Report". Diehards.com.
  13. ^ Star-Telegram (May 23, 2017). "TCU's Skoug selected as Big 12 baseball Co-Player of Year | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  14. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (April 18, 2018). "TCU Baseball: Luken Baker will have surgery on Friday | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  15. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (May 7, 2017). "TCU Baseball: Luken Baker is first Horned Frog drafted | Fort Worth Star-Telegram". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  16. ^ Walton, Brian (June 13, 2018). "Cardinals Announce Signing of Draftees Roberts, Baker and Gil". The Cardinal Nation. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  17. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals: Luken Baker called up to Peoria". Redbirdrants.com. July 21, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  18. ^ "Luken Baker Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  19. ^ https://herald-review.com/sports/baseball/cardinals-aching-in-the-outfield-mri-exam-scheduled-for-ozuna/article_fb1f7c43-fb92-50b6-9402-f5e2292dff2f.html [dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Luken Baker wins Florida State League Player of the Month". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Jeff Gordon (February 19, 2021). "Tipsheet: Cards line up some lumberjacks for the long haul". Stltoday.com.
  22. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  23. ^ "Springfield Cardinals announce 2021 preliminary Opening Day roster". Ozarks Sports Zone. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Cardinals' Luken Baker: Heads to COVID-19 IL". CBSSports.com. August 10, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  25. ^ Silver, Zachary (November 19, 2021). "Brendan Donovan added to Cardinals 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  26. ^ "Lester Outduels Peralta, and Cards Extend Winning Streak to Nine With 5-2 Win Over the Brewers". Viva El Birdos. September 21, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  27. ^ Guerrero, Daniel (August 26, 2024). "Pipeline isn't loaded, but several top-end prospects could help the Cardinals soon". STLtoday.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  28. ^ Guerrero, Daniel (August 26, 2024). "Minor changes yielding major offensive results for Cardinals prospect Luken Baker". STLtoday.com. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  29. ^ "Cardinals' Luken Baker: Gets first big-league promotion". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  30. ^ Terranova, Rob (October 4, 2023). "The 2023 Triple-A All-Stars and Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  31. ^ "Cardinals' Luken Baker: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
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