Ivan Herrera now owns one of the Cardinals' newest franchise records

Believe it or not, Ivan Herrera just swiped a Cardinals franchise record away from future first ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. After slugging two home runs against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Herrera now holds the franchise lead for home runs by a designated hitter in a Cardinals uniform, with his 21 bombs passing Pujols' 19.

Obviously, the record is a bit of an odd one considering the National League did not add the designated hitter rule until the 2022 season, but the record is still a cool one, and something we can expect Herrera to run with for years to come.

Pujols, who returned to the Cardinals in 2022 and hit 13 of his designated hitter home runs for the Cardinals that season, is really the only other primary designated hitter the Cardinals have had since the rule was added for the National League. The Cardinals have used the designated hitter spot to get guys like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras days off their feet, but this season, Herrera starts three out of every five games there, with the other two being behind the plate.

This has allowed Herrera to stay healthy, starting every game for the Cardinals this season and already under 150 plate appearances away from setting a career-high at the Major League level. Herrera now has nine home runs on the season and is once again heating up at the plate.

Cardinals slugger Ivan Herrera is one of the best designated hitters in MLB

Since 2024, Herrera ranks top five among all primary designated hitters in AVG, OBP, and wRC+, showing that even if he's not behind the plate, he's still emerging as one of the best young players in the sport.

Coming into this season, no one could question how talented a hitter Herrera was. The only things that remained to be seen were whether or not he could become a viable option at catcher for the Cardinals and if he could stay in the lineup for an entire season. He's checking both boxes so far.

If Herrera continues to produce all season long, I believe we'll start to see national media give him respect for how impactful he is at the plate. I'm not sure if it is because the Cardinals were mostly a non-story the last few years, or if it was because of his frequent injuries, but Herrera has flown under the radar when it comes to conversations about true impact bats.

Whether or not Herrera ends up behind the plate long-term, the Cardinals would be wise to lock him in as a member of their core for years to come. With other young catchers on the way, Herrera could settle in as their designated hitter while catching some as he does now, or even move positions, but it's hard to see why the Cardinals wouldn't do whatever it takes to keep his bat around for a long, long time.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow