Luken Baker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Luken Baker | |
|---|---|
 Baker with the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2019 | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: March 10, 1997 Spring, Texas, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 4, 2023, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics (through April 12, 2026) | |
| Batting average | .205 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 22 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Luken Grosvenor Baker (born March 10, 1997) is an American professional baseball first baseman in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Baker attended Oak Ridge High School in Conroe, Texas, alongside Durbin Feltman. In July 2014, he won the Junior Home Run Derby at Target Field.[1][2] He later won the Home Run Derby at the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.[3] As a senior, he was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year.[4][5][6]
Baker was considered an early round prospect for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, but emailed major league teams telling them that he would not sign and would instead attend Texas Christian University (TCU) to play college baseball for the TCU Horned Frogs.[7][8] The Houston Astros still selected him in the 37th round that same year, and he did not sign, enrolling at TCU.[9]
In 2016, as a freshman at TCU, Baker was named the Big 12 Conference's Freshman of the Year.[10] He started all 67 of TCU's games, batting .379 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs.[11] 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,[12] earning him a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team.[13] 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.[14]