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The Cuban infielder César Prieto was called up to the Major Leagues by the St. Louis Cardinals this Monday, as Pelota Cubana USA confirmed, marking his second opportunity in the best baseball in the world.
The player from Cienfuegos arrived at this call backed by an explosive start in Triple-A with the Memphis Redbirds, where he batted .311 in 106 at-bats, with 33 hits, seven doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 14 runs batted in during the 2026 season.
Prieto's performance in the minor leagues had created increasing pressure for the organization to promote him. As of April 26, Prieto was hitting .333 with an OPS of .994 in 23 games, leading several offensive categories in the Triple-A East.
At the beginning of April, the Cuban had achieved a batting average of .452 with three home runs in the early games of the season, a figure that raised alarms within the St. Louis organization.
This announcement contrasts with Prieto's modest debut in MLB, which took place on August 29, 2025, when he became the 33rd Cuban to debut in a regular season of Major League Baseball.
That first step was brief: just six at-bats, one hit, and five strikeouts for an average of .167, before being sent back to Triple-A on September 5, 2025.
Prieto hit his first MLB hit on August 31, 2025, a ground single that is etched in his personal history.
The 2026 preseason was not promising for the player from Cienfuegos, who batted just .118 in 17 at-bats, which led to his assignment to Memphis on March 7, with a brief stint in Double-A Springfield before returning to Triple-A.
However, once he settled in Memphis, Prieto displayed an unusual power that far exceeded his historical pace: the six home runs in his first 23 games of 2026 already matched two-thirds of his long-range production for the entire 2025 season, when he hit nine home runs in 107 games.
The manager of the Cardinals, Oli Mármol, praised the player's progress in December 2025 and anticipated opportunities for him in the ongoing season.
Prieto, born on May 10, 1999, in Cienfuegos, left the Cuban national team in 2021 during a tour in the United States and signed with the Baltimore Orioles as an international free agent on January 15, 2022.
He joined the Cardinals organization in August 2023, when he was included in the trade that sent pitcher Jack Flaherty to Baltimore, being at that time the number 16 prospect in the Orioles system.
In June 2025, Prieto also declined the invitation to represent Cuba in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, responding with a straightforward phrase: "My answer is no."
With this second call-up, Prieto will have the chance to prove that his accumulated stats in Triple-A are no fluke and that he is ready to stay in the Big Show.
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