3 Cardinals who could experience positive regression and 3 who will start to struggle

Positive regression - C/DH Ivan Herrera

Ivan Herrera slugged his first home run of the season on April 14th against the Cleveland Guardians, and the hope is that that long ball will spur some more offensive output from the club's #2 hitter.

Herrera has a .194/.386/.290 slash line for a 97 wRC+. He's walked far more than he's struck out, and that's helped to bolster his respectable .386 on-base percentage. Despite hitting in the two-spot in the lineup, Herrera has not yet put up strong offensive numbers when it comes to slugging and racking up hits.

Below you'll find Herrera's actual stats versus his expected stats. Clearly, there's room for growth throughout the rest of the year.

Herrera should be logging more hits based on the hard contact he's been making, but his batted balls have been finding fielders pretty easily. He ranks in the 83rd percentile in hard-hit rate, and he's avoiding strikeouts and chasing pitches. His average exit velocity (90 MPH) has dropped since last year, but he's still squaring up balls at an above-average rate. Herrera's patience has been helpful to him as he searches for his power this year.

Herrera's defense has been a major talking point for several years now. Through only six games this year, Herrera has already won four of his five ABS challenges as a catcher and five of his six challenges as a hitter. He's been an average blocker and framer. He has yet to throw out a baserunner trying to steal, but his exchange rate has seen a slight improvement year over year while his arm strength has dropped slightly.

Ivan Herrera has consistently been Oli Marmol's second hitter in the lineup. He would do well to tap into some slug over the next few weeks. Herrera has been able to maintain success when it comes to challenging balls and strikes. With more time behind the dish, there's hope that he can start throwing out more baserunners as well.

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