Cesar Prieto, 26, made his long-awaited MLB debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29th against the Cincinnati Reds. Prieto entered the game in the 10th inning as a pinch hitter for Garrett Hampson. His first at-bat resulted in an out, striking out on a foul tip.
Before reaching the majors, Prieto played in 474 minor league games across the Baltimore Orioles and Cardinals systems, posting a career batting average of .293. He performed well in Spring Training, hitting .429 in 19 games in 2024 and .360 in 20 games in 2025. This season in Triple-A, Prieto batted .295 with nine home runs and 62 RBIs in 107 games, proving he was ready for the next level.
Prieto’s journey to the majors began in Cuba, where he was considered one of the country’s top young talents. In the 2020-21 season with Cienfuegos, he led the league with a .403 batting average, recorded 128 hits, seven home runs, and 51 RBIs in 74 games, and set a Serie Nacional record with a 45-game hitting streak—surpassing Rey Isaac’s 37-game mark from 1994-95. He also broke former MLB player Kendry Morales’ rookie hits record. In 2021, during the Olympic qualifiers in Florida, Prieto defected from the Cuban national team. He signed with the Orioles in 2022 for $650,000.
Four years after leaving Cuba, Cesar Prieto finally reached the majors, achieving a milestone that had been years in the making.