Luken Grosvenor Baker (born March 10, 1997) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

organization.

Amateur career

Baker attended Oak Ridge High School in

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2021, the population was 98,081, up from 56,207 in 2010. Since 2007, the ...

, alongside

Durbin Feltman Durbin Sanders Feltman (born April 18, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Boston Red Sox organization. He played college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs. Amateur career Feltman attended and graduated from Oak Ridge High ...

. In July 2014, he won the Junior Home Run Derby at

Target Field Target Field is a baseball stadium in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hosted the 2014 Major Leag ...

. He later won the Home Run Derby at the

Under Armour All-America Baseball Game The Under Armour High School All-America Baseball Game is a high school baseball all-star game held annually to spotlight the United States' top high school players who are juniors or seniors. The game is played in late July or August, at Wrigley ...

. As a senior, he was named the

Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

. Baker was considered an early round prospect for the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

, but emailed major league teams telling them that he would not sign and would instead attend

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

(TCU) to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

still selected him in the 37th round that same year, and he did not sign, enrolling at TCU. In 2016, as a freshman at TCU, Baker was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year. He started all 67 of TCU's games, batting .379 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs. 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, earning him a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team. 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.

Professional career

Baker was selected 75th overall by the

in the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

and signed with them for $800,000. He made his professional debut with the

Gulf Coast League Cardinals The Florida Complex League Cardinals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. The team plays ...

, and, after batting .500 in eight games, and was promoted to the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

. In 37 games for the Chiefs to finish the season, he hit .288 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. Baker spent the 2019 season with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

. After hitting .346 with four home runs and a 1.067

OPS In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...

in the month of August, he earned

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

Player of the Month honors. He finished the year slashing .244/.327/.390 with ten home runs and 53 RBIs over 122 games. Baker was assigned to the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

to begin the 2021 season. He missed nearly all of August and the beginning of September while on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. Over 91 games for Springfield, Baker slashed .248/.322/.530 with 26 home runs and 68 RBIs. In mid-September, he was promoted to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

with whom he appeared in two games to end the season. Baker returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Luken 1997 births Living people People from Spring, Texas Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Baseball players from Texas Baseball first basemen Baseball pitchers TCU Horned Frogs baseball players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Palm Beach Cardinals players