Cardinals Rising Star Predicted To Double In Value After Inspiring 2024 Season

The former St. Louis top prospect is ready for more at-bats in 2025

Sep 1, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) celebrates with catcher Iván Herrera (48) after scoring in the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are about to enter an unprecidented season during which the club's youth-laden core will primarily run the show, with the exception of a few returning veterans.

Despite missing the postseason by a long shot two years in a row, the Cardinals front office is prepared to lay it all on the line for youngsters such as Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbaar to break out of their shells to provide St. Louis fans with an entertaining 2025 season.

Hopefully, the Cardinals will see an offensive outbreak from a former top prospect who should earn far more plate appearances than he did last season.

"I’ve always bought the bat, as (Iván) Herrera has a great swing and makes a ton of contact, but in a small sample last season, he showed that he can make plenty of hard contact, too," The Athletic's Keith Law wrote Wedenesday when predicting potential breakout candidates for 2025. "His hard-hit rate and exit velocities would put him right around the Major League Baseball median for catchers had he played enough. He got just under half a season of playing time last year and was worth 1.7 bWAR; I think he’ll double that this year, assuming he gets twice the at-bats."

The bWAR statistic Law mentioned stands for Baseball-Reference's Wins Above Replacement, which measures a player's value is in terms of how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his position.

Considering that Herrara only played in 72 games for the Cardinals last year and still logged a 1.7 bWAR, he will undoubtedly have the chance to solidify himself as St. Louis' future franchise catcher with a dominant offensive performance this upcoming season.

With three-time All-Star Willson Contreras seemingly prepared to remain the Cardinals' first baseman until his contract expires in 2027 or following his 2028 club option, the next franchise catcher could be Herrara -- who shared crouching behind the plate with Pedro Pagés last year.

Herrara batted .301 with 18 extra-base hits including five home runs, 27 RBIs and a .800 OPS in 229 at-bats for St. Louis in 2024. Hopefully, with more plate appearances this upcoming season, the 24-year-old will earn the right to establish himself as a legitimate big-league catcher.

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