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The Cuban César Prieto hit his third home run of the season this Tuesday in Triple-A, raising his batting average to an astonishing .452 with the Memphis Redbirds, the St. Louis Cardinals' affiliate, while the franchise continues to refrain from calling him up to the Major Leagues.
According to Pelota Cubana on Facebook, the 385-foot hit between right and center field came during the 9-4 victory of Memphis over the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Prieto batted fifth while playing shortstop, and in the game, he went 2 for 5 with one run scored and one RBI.
With 14 hits in 31 at-bats and five runs batted in so far this season, the 26-year-old player boasts numbers that few infielders can show at any level of professional baseball.
It was also the 47th home run of his Minor League career, and it leaves him just 20 hits away from reaching 600 hits as a minor leaguer.
Despite those figures, Prieto continues to wait in Memphis. The Cardinals optioned him to their affiliate on March 7, 2026, briefly sent him to Springfield between March 23 and March 27, and then reassigned him back to Memphis, where he has responded with one of the most striking offensive starts in the minors.
The contrast with his preseason is striking: in the spring training of 2026, he batted just .118 in 17 at-bats, which may have influenced the organization's decision to keep him off the major roster at the start of the season.
His Major League debut came on August 29, 2025, when he became the 33rd player born in Cuba to participate in a regular season of MLB. However, the opportunity was minimal: only six at-bats, one hit, and a batting average of .167 before being optioned back to Memphis.
In Triple-A, on the other hand, Prieto has been consistent for years. In 2025, he hit .295 with nine home runs and 62 RBIs in 107 games; in 2024, he recorded .279 with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs in 129 games.
The manager Oli Mármol stated at the Winter Meetings in December 2025 that Prieto made significant progress from one season to another and that "he has quite a good chance of playing in 2026."
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