| Nathan Church | |
|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals – No. 27 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: July 12, 2000 Newport Beach, California, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 17, 2025, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics (through August 22, 2025) | |
| Batting average | .111 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 4 |
| Teams | |
| |
Nathan Michael Church (born July 12, 2000) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025.
Amateur career
[edit]Church attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest, California, and played college baseball at the University of California, Irvine for the Anteaters.[1] As a junior in 2022, he hit .309 with five home runs and 38 RBI over 53 games.
Professional career
[edit]Church was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 11th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft and signed for $125,000.[2] After signing with St. Louis, Church made his professional debut with the Palm Beach Cardinals, hitting .189 over 27 games. He was assigned to the Peoria Chiefs for the 2023 season and batted .279 with three home runs, 44 RBI, and 21 stolen bases over 119 games. He spent the 2024 season with the Springfield Cardinals, batting .268 with nine home runs, 66 RBI, and 24 stolen bases over 127 games.[3] Following the season's end, he was assigned to play in the Arizona Fall League with the Glendale Desert Dogs.[4]
Church was assigned to Springfield to open the 2025 season and was promoted to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds in early June.[5] He was named the Texas League Player of the Month in May for his performance with Springfield.[6] In 53 appearances for Memphis, Church batted .335/.400/.521 with seven home runs, 30 RBI, and nine stolen bases. On August 17, 2025, Church was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[7] He made his MLB debut that night at Busch Stadium versus the New York Yankees, starting in center field and going hitless over four at-bats.[8] He recorded both his first hit and first MLB home run on August 22 versus Adrian Houser of the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "UC Irvine baseball looks to stay atop the Big West". February 18, 2022.
- ^ "St. Louis Cardinals complete 2022 MLB Draft". MLB.com.
- ^ "Nathan Church leads red hot Cardinals into Springfield homestand". April 24, 2024.
- ^ "Armed with save-first mentality, Svanson leads Cards prospects in AFL". MLB.com.
- ^ "Once overlooked, Springfield's Nathan Church is forcing people to pay attention". May 14, 2025.
- ^ "Nathan Church named Texas League Player of the Month".
- ^ "Cardinals Place Victor Scott II On IL, Select Nathan Church". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
- ^ https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/cardinals-nathan-church-promoted-for-mlb-debut/
- ^ https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/nathan-church-collects-first-mlb-hit-home-run-in-same-game?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)