Luken Baker

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #27 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Baker had a legendary freshman season at Texas Christian when he helped lead the Horned Frogs to the 2016 College World Series. Baker spent close to five full seasons in the minors before a standout performance in 2023 skyrocketed him to the majors. Baker hit 18 home runs over his first 54 games and earned his first callup to the majors on June 4th.
  
  Scouting Report: Significant improvements to Baker’s approach yielded eye-popping results in 2023. Baker had a substantial decrease in chase rate year-over-year and it materialized in both higher contact quantity and quality. While Baker hit Triple-A pitching, he showed elevated swing-and-miss in the major leagues against better quality stuff. Baker’s power is his carrying tool and he showed an ability to consistently get to it this season. He can send balls into orbit when he makes his best contact with a leveraged, power swing. Baker is a bottom-of-the-scale runner who’s limited to first base defensively where he is a below-average defender.
  
  The Future: Baker is a near-ready reserve player who can provide power off the bench.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 40 | Power: 60 | Run: 20 | Field: 40 | Arm: 55
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #30 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Baker had an exceptional freshman season as a two-way player for Texas Christian, leading the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.379), runs scored (59) and RBIs (62) while posting a team-high 11 home runs. He also made 10 starts on the mound, going 3-1, 1.70. The rest of his career was marred by injuries, but he was productive when healthy and the Cardinals drafted him in the supplemental second round in 2018. Baker made it to high Class A Palm Beach in his pro debut in 2019, but was not brought to the Cardinals alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Baker is a massive, 6-foot-4, 265-pound slugger with plus-plus raw power. He can catch up to any fastball and he has game-changing power, although that power has yet to fully manifest itself in games. He struggles to recognize and adjust to breaking balls, limiting him to a possibly below-average hitter. He did have a late surge at Palm Beach, slugging .654 in August, so there is hope he is progressing. Baker is a well below-average first baseman—his 10 errors were second-most among first basemen in the Florida State League in 2019—who struggles to consistently catch the ball. He needs a lot of work and is a risk to end up strictly a designated hitter.
  
  THE FUTURE: After letting Luke Voit go and watching him turn into a productive slugger, the Cardinals have every reason to give Baker chances. He’s ready for Double-A and the more inviting hitting environments of the Texas League.
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #28 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Baker achieved folk hero status at Texas Christian as a hefty masher who became one of college baseball's top sluggers. The Cardinals drafted him 75th overall in 2018 and signed him for $800,000. Baker struggled his first full season as his towering flies fell short of the wall at cavernous high Class A Palm Beach, but he adjusted his pitch selection late in the year and slugged .654 in August.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: A burly 270 pounds with a physique likened to a lumberjack, Baker boasts plus raw power and doesn't have to swing hard to get to it. He began chasing pitches out of the zone as his early-season power drought extended, but by the end he returned to recognizing pitches, taking a patient approach and showing the mix of discipline and bat control to project as an average hitter. Baker is limited to first base by his size and below-average range. He picks balls out of the dirt well enough to be playable.
  
  THE FUTURE: Baker's late-season improvement and a move to hitter-friendly Double-A Springfield bode well for a bounceback season in 2020. He will go as far as his bat takes him.
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #23 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Baker became a folk hero at Texas Christian as a 265-pound, two-way freshman who led the Horned Frogs to the College World Series in 2016. The big-bodied Texan gave up pitching as a sophomore to focus on hitting and batted .347 with 28 home runs and 129 RBIs over three collegiate seasons. The Cardinals drafted Baker in the supplemental second round and signed him for $800,000.
  
  Scouting Report: Baker has plus raw power and doesn't have to swing hard to get to it, allowing him the bat control to be an average-or-better hitter. Baker can hit, but he's a tough fit defensively. He mostly DH'd in college and is a below-average first baseman with limited range, although he catches what he gets to and picks balls out of the dirt fine. He doesn't move well enough to play anywhere else and has a concerning injury history, including elbow surgery in 2017 and a broken left fibula in 2018.
  
  The Future: Baker is going to have to hit to rise. His bat will be tested at high Class A Palm Beach in 2019.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #68 prospect in 2018 draft
  A two-way star in high school who ranked No. 58 on the BA 500 in 2016, Baker has lived up to lofty expectations at TCU, when healthy. His career has been marred by a number of freak injuries, however. Baker's sophomore season ended early when he injured his arm and elbow in a collision at first base and he need surgery to repair his elbow. As a junior, he missed a couple of games after he took a bad hop off his eye, then saw his season end prematurely when he broke his left fibula sliding into second base. Baker began his TCU career as a two-way star with a low-to-mid-90s fastball, but he gave up pitching as a sophomore. His best position is designated hitter, but he can play a below-average first base as well. The 6-foot-4, 265 pounder doesn't move well enough to be an outfielder. And that makes it tough to project him as a pro. He's best suited for an American League team because of his defensive limitations. Baker has been productive, but his 11 home runs as a freshman remain his season high and because of his injuries he has no real track record of hitting with wood bats. Righthanded-hitting first baseman have to put up massive stats in college to go high in the draft. A team looking for power could take him in the second or third round, but some scouts wouldn't be surprised if Baker returned to TCU to try to get healthy and put up bigger numbers.
• Ranked #58 prospect in 2015 draft
  Baker burst into prominence by winning the MLB Junior Select Home Run Derby during the all-star weekend in Minneapolis last summer. He almost didn't get invited to participate because he was better known as a pitcher. His power display was no fluke as he followed it up by also winning the home run derby at the Under Armour All-America Classic as well by hitting several balls out of Wrigley Field. Baker is a legitimate early-round prospect either as a pitcher or as a first baseman--he's even caught at times, but that's not a viable pro option because of his 6-foot-4, 240-pound frame. Baker has some of the best raw power in the class and he posted some of the best exit speeds on batted balls on the showcase circuit. But he's also relatively advanced in his approach, as he uses the opposite field well and does a good job of not chasing pitches out of the zone. Baker's power is derived more from leverage and strength than bat speed. There is no physical projection as he's already as big or bigger than many MLB first basemen, and he's a bottom of the scale runner. On the mound, Baker has a 91-95 fastball with good downhill plane and some sink down in the zone, although it's relatively true when he elevates it. His breaking ball flashes above-average. His changeup is less developed and would need to be a point of emphasis as a pro. Baker, a Texas Christian signee, shows effort in his delivery and has a head whack, which leads some to believe he'll end up as a power reliever. It's hard not to think of Mark Trumbo when watching Baker, as they have a similar skillset coming out of high school, and both faced choices on whether to pitch or hit. A team drafting Baker as a hitter knows that he can always move to the mound later as a fallback option.

• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Baker had an exceptional freshman season as a two-way player for Texas Christian, leading the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.379), runs scored (59) and RBIs (62) while posting a team-high 11 home runs. He also made 10 starts on the mound, going 3-1, 1.70. The rest of his career was marred by injuries, but he was productive when healthy and the Cardinals drafted him in the supplemental second round in 2018. Baker made it to high Class A Palm Beach in his pro debut in 2019, but was not brought to the Cardinals alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Baker is a massive, 6-foot-4, 265-pound slugger with plus-plus raw power. He can catch up to any fastball and he has game-changing power, although that power has yet to fully manifest itself in games. He struggles to recognize and adjust to breaking balls, limiting him to a possibly below-average hitter. He did have a late surge at Palm Beach, slugging .654 in August, so there is hope he is progressing. Baker is a well below-average first baseman—his 10 errors were second-most among first basemen in the Florida State League in 2019—who struggles to consistently catch the ball. He needs a lot of work and is a risk to end up strictly a designated hitter.
  
  THE FUTURE: After letting Luke Voit go and watching him turn into a productive slugger, the Cardinals have every reason to give Baker chances. He's ready for Double-A and the more inviting hitting environments of the Texas League.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Baker had an exceptional freshman season as a two-way player for Texas Christian, leading the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.379), runs scored (59) and RBIs (62) while posting a team-high 11 home runs. He also made 10 starts on the mound, going 3-1, 1.70. The rest of his career was marred by injuries, but he was productive when healthy and the Cardinals drafted him in the supplemental second round in 2018. Baker made it to high Class A Palm Beach in his pro debut in 2019, but was not brought to the Cardinals alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Baker is a massive, 6-foot-4, 265-pound slugger with plus-plus raw power. He can catch up to any fastball and he has game-changing power, although that power has yet to fully manifest itself in games. He struggles to recognize and adjust to breaking balls, limiting him to a possibly below-average hitter. He did have a late surge at Palm Beach, slugging .654 in August, so there is hope he is progressing. Baker is a well below-average first baseman—his 10 errors were second-most among first basemen in the Florida State League in 2019—who struggles to consistently catch the ball. He needs a lot of work and is a risk to end up strictly a designated hitter.
  
  THE FUTURE: After letting Luke Voit go and watching him turn into a productive slugger, the Cardinals have every reason to give Baker chances. He’s ready for Double-A and the more inviting hitting environments of the Texas League.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Baker had an exceptional freshman season as a two-way player for Texas Christian, leading the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.379), runs scored (59) and RBIs (62) while posting a team-high 11 home runs. He also made 10 starts on the mound, going 3-1, 1.70. The rest of his career was marred by injuries, but he was productive when healthy and the Cardinals drafted him in the supplemental second round in 2018. Baker made it to high Class A Palm Beach in his pro debut in 2019, but was not brought to the Cardinals alternate training site in 2020.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Baker is a massive, 6-foot-4, 265-pound slugger with plus-plus raw power. He can catch up to any fastball and he has game-changing power, although that power has yet to fully manifest itself in games. He struggles to recognize and adjust to breaking balls, limiting him to a possibly below-average hitter. He did have a late surge at Palm Beach, slugging .654 in August, so there is hope he is progressing. Baker is a well below-average first baseman—his 10 errors were second-most among first basemen in the Florida State League in 2019—who struggles to consistently catch the ball. He needs a lot of work and is a risk to end up strictly a designated hitter.
  
  THE FUTURE: After letting Luke Voit go and watching him turn into a productive slugger, the Cardinals have every reason to give Baker chances. He’s ready for Double-A and the more inviting hitting environments of the Texas League.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Baker achieved folk hero status at Texas Christian as a hefty masher who became one of college baseball's top sluggers. The Cardinals drafted him 75th overall in 2018 and signed him for $800,000. Baker struggled his first full season as his towering flies fell short of the wall at cavernous high Class A Palm Beach, but he adjusted his pitch selection late in the year and slugged .654 in August.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: A burly 270 pounds with a physique likened to a lumberjack, Baker boasts plus raw power and doesn't have to swing hard to get to it. He began chasing pitches out of the zone as his early-season power drought extended, but by the end he returned to recognizing pitches, taking a patient approach and showing the mix of discipline and bat control to project as an average hitter. Baker is limited to first base by his size and below-average range. He picks balls out of the dirt well enough to be playable.
  
  THE FUTURE: Baker's late-season improvement and a move to hitter-friendly Double-A Springfield bode well for a bounceback season in 2020. He will go as far as his bat takes him.