Checking in on the St. Louis Cardinals' top catching prospects

The Cardinals have the most catchers ranked among their top 30 prospects in all of baseball, according to MLB.com.

Not only are their four catchers ranked inside the top 30, but they are all 18th or better in their system. While it will remain to be seen if all four players stick at the position long term, it is quite impressive to see the amount of higher talent behind the dish throughout the organization.

While the Cardinals seem to have found a great long-term option at the MLB level with Ivan Herrera, how are the prospect backstops doing at their respectful levels behind him on the depth chart?

Jimmy Crooks improving for Triple-A Memphis

A 4th-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Oklahoma, Crooks is the 4th-ranked prospect in the Cardinals' system and the highest catching prospect on their list. The 23-year-old is coming off a huge breakout season for Double-A Springfield in 2024, where he put up a .908 OPS over 90 games.

Fast forward to 2025, Crooks is slashing .252/.317/.426 with Triple-A Memphis over 30 games to start the season. While this isn't the production we saw last year, Crooks seems to be adjusting well to Triple-A pitching at the plate.

Behind the plate, he isn’t a finished product, but he’s shown consistent gains with framing and receiving since turning professional. He has shown strides with throwing out baserunners, which will only help his way to the major league roster.

Leonardo Bernal struggling with Double-A Springfield

Bernal, the Cardinals' 6th-ranked prospect in their system, has had a slow start at the plate in 2025. The majority of the struggles have come from the left side of the plate, as he is carrying a .595 OPS over 60 at-bats compared to a 1.015 OPS from the right side. His switch-hitting ability is a huge calling card for Bernal, but it is worth watching if the struggles continue from the left side of the plate.

The 21-year-old's arm is one of the strongest among backstops in all of minor league baseball, as he put up a 35.2 percent caught stealing rate, which was the best among qualified catchers in all of High-A. The same trend has continued into 2025 at the Double-A level as well.

Ryan Campos off to cold start in pro ball for High-A Peoria

The Cardinals used their 4th-round pick in last year's draft on Campos out of Arizona State. The 22-year-old debuted right after being drafted for Low-A Palm Beach and threw up a .319 batting average over the last month of 2024.

Now in 2025, the Arizona native is carrying a slash line of .211/.348/.295 over 25 games. The young lefty is struggling mightily against left-handed pitching, as he has gone 2-22 this year off southpaws.

Campos is still only 51 games into his professional career, and I wouldn't be worried about any performance quite yet. He was still trying to "get comfortable" after his first-ever Spring Training as a pro this year, so time is still needed to adjust to pro ball.

Rainiel Rodriguez debuts stateside for FCL Cardinals

Rodriguez, the Cardinals' 7th-ranked prospect in their system, is downright crushing the FCL in his first stop in the US. So far, the young catcher has gone 11-28 with 5 home runs and 10 RBIs. He is currently carrying an OPS of 1.491. The 18-year-old has a hit in 8 of his 9 games he has played in.

While Rodriguez is still young and developing, the glove work is still well behind the bat, but he did throw out 32.4 percent of attempted base stealers last season in the DSL. If the bat keeps up the pace, we should see Rodriguez move up to Low-A once the FCL season wraps up.