St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Ivan Herrera might debut in 2022

St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Ivan Herrera might debut in 2022, but he’ll need to bounce back at the plate to make that reality.

In Keith Law of The Athletic’s latest prospect rankings, he had Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and Matthew Liberatore in his top-36 prospects. But they aren’t the only St. Louis Cardinals prospects who made the Top 100 list.

Ivan Herrera, the St. Louis Cardinals catcher of the future, was ranked No. 75 overall — as the team’s fourth and final prospect in his ranking.

Herrera, 21, is known for his bat, but hit only .231 with a .753 OPS in 98 games. The Cardinals remain bullish on his offensive outlook, as he has a “strong, selective plate approach,” and is capable of hitting balls hard consistently, as he hit 17 home runs last season. He has improved defensively and there is optimism that he can continue to improve, though it will be tough to replicate – or even come close – to Yadier Molina, perhaps the best defensive catcher in recent baseball history.

So what does Herrera’s future look like? Katie Woo of The Athletic believes that there is a realistic chance that he starts the season in Triple-A and that he could debut as soon as the end of 2022.

That timeline depends on how Herrera continues to develop, both offensively and defensively, and that’s the earliest timeline we have seen. The assumption has long been that he would debut in 2023, where he will be the No. 1 catcher, but getting called up and spending time around Molina in a big-league setting could help his development.

It’s also Molina’s presence that allows the Cardinals to be patient with Herrera. But he is their catcher of the future and he will debut at some point soon, perhaps at the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023. It all depends on his development.