Cardinals who can bounce back to earn Silver Slugger respect in 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals season was a letdown on both sides of the ball, but were given a nice surprise when it was announced that they actually had two finalists for the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger awards. While this is a welcomed outcome for Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson, other Cardinals players have the potential for a big 2026 campaign to be included on next year's list of finalists.

Which Cardinals player(s) could become favorites for a Silver Slugger award in 2026?

The Silver Slugger is handed out to those who is voted on by MLB managers and coaches. They cast ballots for the players they determine to be the best offensive producers at each position in their respective league. Each team receives four votes: the manager and three coaches of their choice. Votes are based on a combination of offensive statistics including OBP, OPS, OPS+, home runs, hits, RBI and batting average as well as the managers’ and coaches’ general impressions of a player’s overall offensive value. The accounting firm of Deming, Malone, Livesay & Ostroff verifies the tabulation of ballots.

While there is no set rule for who can earn Silver Slugger recognition, the vagueness in the "general impressions" of a player could benefit some Cardinals players next season. The St. Louis lineup is currently missing some pop, but if other coaches are impressed or intimidated by certain players in the order, they could work their way into contention for the award. The Cardinals' starting nine may look pretty similar to this year's squad, so there will be a few guys who will need to step up if they want to be honored for reaching their offensive potential.

I am not including Brendan Donovan or Alec Burleson in this list, since they were honored this year, although they could still be considered frontrunners for the award if they improved on this season's performance.

Ivan Herrera

The first player is pretty obvious in Ivan Herrera, who was the Cardinals' version of a power bat but battled injuries. While healthy, Herrera smacked 19 homers with an .837 OPS in 107 injury-riddled games. After bouncing around on the injured list and putting up average performance as a catcher, the 25-year-old spent many of his healthy games as the DH. If he wanted to be a finalist for the Silver Slugger as a DH, he would have to beat out the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwaber, and Christian Yelich, all who put up massive numbers comparable to the DH spots of old.

Next year, however, the Cardinals plan to push Herrera back behind the plate to see if he can handle a full season as a catcher. This year's finalists are William Contreras, Hunter Goodman, and Will Smith. The competition would remain stiff for the catcher award, but Herrera had more homers than both Contreras and Smith while his batting average was a few points higher than Goodman, who hit 31 long balls this year. Even with fewer homers than the Rockies catcher, Herrera had a higher OPS+ and similar OPS thanks to Herrera's plate discipline.

Willson Contreras

The final two names on the list would need a big season as well as some regression from the current finalists to make the cut next year. The Cardinals' most productive hitter in terms of homers and RBI was Willson Contreras, who led the team with 20 long balls and 80 runs driven in. His RBI total was a career-high while his 20 homers equals his most since joining the Cardinals.

The new first baseman had a consistent but underwhelming first half before finding more power after the All-Star break. He was shut down for the end of another lost year but remained healthy for the majority of the season. The three finalists this year were overall better than Contreras, but if he can become a force in the middle of the order, he could gain some recognition for the "general impressions" of his offensive value to the team.

Masyn Winn

At shortstop, there is a mix of power, average, and overall production in this year's finalists but Masyn Winn could push himself into consideration with a big year in 2026. While the organization's number one prospect via FanGraphs in 2023, the outlet believed Winn to have 50-grade future power along with great contact potential and the athleticism to make him a force on the bases. Since his promotion, though, Winn has battled through a few injuries and some growing pains.

The 23-year-old was unable to match his production from 2024, but he will be entering his third full MLB season as soon as he recovers from his offseason meniscus surgery. As his defense has progressed to Gold Glove level, if he could make the next step with his hitting, he could be in line for a major payday and superstar potential. Winn still looks the part of a 20-homer, 20-steal guy to me, but he will have to cut some strikeouts and find his most productive spot in the lineup.

JJ Wetherholt

The long shot of the list is JJ Wetherholt, who has yet to make his MLB debut and may not even be on the 26-man roster at the start of next year. The main reason he joins the list is because of the current three that are battling it out for the award this year. Nico Hoerner of the Cubs and Brice Turang from the Brewers grace the list as two all-around hitters and are joined with D'Backs superstar Ketel Marte, who takes it one step further while adding power from both sides of the plate.

Across two minor league levels, Wetherholt put up a .307 batting average and hit 17 homers while striking out just one more time than he walked. He also added 28 doubles and two triples to put up a 152 WRC+, seven points higher than Marte. If Wetherholt makes the big league roster, it will likely be as a second baseman as the Cardinals look at their middle infield of the future.