Cardinals' forgotten trade is paying off with another exciting catching prospect

At this point, the rest of Major League Baseball has to be wondering when the St. Louis Cardinals will start sharing some of their catching talent. So much attention has been on that group all year long for the Cardinals, and now Sammy Hernandez is throwing his name into the conversation.

Back in 2023, the Cardinals designated reliever Genesis Caberera for assignment, and then flipped him to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for 19-year-old catching prospect Sammy Hernandez. It was an interesting deal at the time, but let's be honest, it's gotten little to no attention among Cardinals fans since.

Well, you better get used to hearing Hernandez's name moving forward.

I just spoke with top Cardinals prospect Tai Peete on the Dealin' the Cards podcast, and when I brought up to him that he was a favorite for the Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player award, the way he turned the conversation to Hernandez should say it all:

"It's cool, but there's still Sammy Hernandez, man, that guy is an auto double down the line," Peete said. "You want an extra-base hit? Sammy Hernandez is going to be your guy."

Any time someone's teammate is quick to nominate them for an award that they could be winning instead, well, that should tell you something!

Sammy Hernandez is the next exciting Cardinals catching coming through the farm system

Known primarily for his defense when he was first acquired by the Cardinals, Hernandez has quietly produced in a major way at the plate in the Cardinals system. Back in 2024, Hernandez posted a 122 wRC+ across Low-A and High-A in 86 games, and while he had a down year in 2025, he absolutely crushed the baseball in 2026, slashing .279/.411/.529 with 11 homers and 29 extra-base hits in just 65 games, amounting to a 140 wRC+ in High-A.

At just 22 years old, Hernandez has a ton of time ahead of him, and he's got the potential to be a legit catching option for the Cardinals long-term. He's definitely not Rainiel Rodriguez or Leo Bernal, and I'm not even ready to say he has the potential of Jimmy Crooks yet, but he sure does have the catching chops and continued development in his bat necessary to do some things in the future.

This should give Cardinals fans even more confidence regarding the future of the catching position. They are in very good hands with Bernal as their long-term starter, and they'll have some sort of mix alongside him with Rodriguez, Herrera, and Crooks, but even if the Cardinals deal one or two of those guys, they'll still have another name in the system on his way. Heck, they could even use Hernandez at some point in a deal to go get what they need.

If you haven't been watching the Arizona Fall League thus far, I highly encourage you to check it out and see the highlights that Peete, Hernandez, Tekoah Roby, and company are putting up night after night. There's a ton of young talent in the system right now, and it's fun to see that the Cardinals' run on catching talent doesn't appear to be ending any time soon.

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