Luken Baker

Luken Baker

27-Year-Old DHDH
St. Louis Cardinals
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Baker was one of the most productive hitters at the Triple-A level in 2023, putting up a blistering .334/.439/.720 batting line with 33 home runs and 98 RBI over just 380 plate appearances with Memphis. He also cut his strikeout rate to 20 percent while upping his walk rate to 15.5 percent. The breakout led to Baker's first big-league action in St. Louis, where he played sporadically and posted just a .627 OPS and 31.3 percent strikeout rate in 99 trips to the dish. Baker did draw walks at a 13.1 percent clip and boasted a 52.7 percent hard-hit rate, so there were some positives. The 27-year-old is a big boy at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds and offers an interesting blend of power and on-base ability. The problem is Baker is stretched defensively even at first base and the Cards look to have at least a few ahead of him in the pecking order at designated hitter. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#366
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals in March of 2024.
Returns from paternity leave
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
September 27, 2024
The Cardinals reinstated Baker from the paternity list Friday.
ANALYSIS
After spending the three-game maximum away from the team, Baker will now return to the active roster, replacing Victor Scott, who was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+14%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+203%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+44%
OPS vs RHP
2022
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .694 64 4 2 10 0 .218 .313 .382
Since 2022vs Right .607 84 8 2 10 1 .183 .298 .310
2024vs Left 1.086 22 2 2 7 0 .278 .364 .722
2024vs Right .359 27 1 0 3 1 .091 .222 .136
2023vs Left .502 42 2 0 3 0 .189 .286 .216
2023vs Right .721 57 7 2 7 0 .224 .333 .388
2022vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+48%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+29%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+66%
OPS on Road
2022
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .524 75 5 1 9 1 .164 .240 .284
Since 2022Away .777 73 7 3 11 0 .237 .370 .407
2024Home .618 30 2 1 6 1 .154 .233 .385
2024Away .797 19 1 1 4 0 .214 .368 .429
2023Home .464 45 3 0 3 0 .171 .244 .220
2023Away .770 54 6 2 7 0 .244 .370 .400
2022Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Luken Baker compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.64
 
BB Rate
14.3%
 
K Rate
22.4%
 
BABIP
.172
 
ISO
.225
 
AVG
.175
 
OBP
.286
 
SLG
.400
 
OPS
.686
 
wOBA
.298
 
Exit Velocity
91.0 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
41.9%
 
Barrels/PA
4.1%
 
Expected BA
.183
 
Expected SLG
.321
 
Sprint Speed
22.9 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
35.5%
 
Line Drive %
16.1%
 
Fly Ball %
48.4%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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More Fantasy News
Goes on paternity leave
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
Personal
September 24, 2024
The Cardinals placed Baker on the paternity list Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Clubs second homer
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
September 1, 2024
Baker went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 14-7 win over the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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Appears set to lose work vs. RHPs
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
September 1, 2024
Baker will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 2 batter in Sunday's game against the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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On bench Friday
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
August 30, 2024
Baker is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Yankees.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up steal in win
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
August 29, 2024
Baker went 0-for-2 with two walks, one RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Padres.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Tough path to roster spot
DHSt. Louis Cardinals
March 3, 2024
Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes Baker will have a difficult time making St. Louis' Opening Day roster due to the club's veteran signings during the offseason.
ANALYSIS
The 26-year-old was never assured a roster spot after posting a .627 OPS over 33 games in his first taste of the big leagues last season, and the additions of Brandon Crawford and Matt Carpenter during the winter significantly complicate his path. Baker was a force at the Triple-A level last season with 33 homers and a .334/.439/.720 slash line in 84 contests, and he clearly has little left to prove in the minors.
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