​CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 15: Joshua Báez #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates with Alec Burleson #41 of the St. Louis Cardinals after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 15, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jessie Alcheh/Getty Images) | Getty Images Incredible. Amazing. Historic. Unbelievable.Those were one word texts I received from a few friends who were in as much disbelief as I was seeing Joshua Baez make history. The first homer almost seemed expected. The second one, shocking. The record-setting homer? Go ahead and share any other (clean) words you used at the moment for the best offensive debut in Major League history.Baez’ never-before-seen performance made homers by Alec Burleson and Blaze Jordan seem irrelevant, but the St. Louis Cardinals had to work their way through some jams to grab the win in game two. Burly has been on another hot streak while Jordan Walker and Ivan Herrera have shown signs of breaking out but have not yet gotten heated all the way up since the All-Star break. JJ Wetherholt has been fine in the season’s second half, but Sal Stewart’s continued offensive production has made the Rookie of the Year race closer.Those four have made up the top half of the Cardinals order in some capacity for the vast majority of the season. Until recently, Ivan Herrera was the two-hole hitter but has now been bouncing around to the cleanup spot, swapping places with Walker. They have looked to be a key cog for the future and now Joshua Baez could extend this lineup further.Joshua Baez’ power could make up for potential holes in future Cardinals lineupsThe Cardinals are still above .500 and have been remaining relevant in the playoff race despite a lack of power in the lineup. Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson have both hit 20 or more homers this year, but the Cardinals currently rank 26th in baseball in homers. Ivan Herrera’s power has been down and JJ Wetherholt could still reach the 20-homer mark, but the rest of the order has been lacking in run production via the longball.Per Cardinals PRThe heart of the Cardinals’ order (3-4-5 hitters) has provided 37.3% of their hits this season, the largest share byany team’s 3-4-5 hitters— Dani Wexelman (@DaniWex) August 15, 2026When Alec Burleson or Jordan Walker hit in the three-hole, the duo have been the major part of the best offensive production from that spot in the order by wRC+. Every hitter who has hit in the third spot for the Cardinals this year has combined for 60 extra-base hits, the most in the majors. As shown by Dani Wexelman’s tweet, the middle of the Cardinals order has made up the most hits in the league, but the four and five hitters also measure in the bottom half of the league.In his major league debut, Baez hit in the five-hole, the spot in the order where the Cardinals 78 wRC+ ranks as 25th in baseball. The Cardinals have 10 homers from their five hitter, and half of those have come f