8 Cardinals who are outperforming projections this year

The baseball season is officially 25% over for every team in baseball. At the quarter mark, the St. Louis Cardinals sit at 17-24 and are last in the National League Central. They as a team have already underperformed and failed to live up to preseason expectations.

Despite their rough start, the St. Louis Cardinals still have some players who are playing quite well. The bullpen alone has far exceeded expectations as a unit. Certain individual players have also played well in spite of their teammates. While on the surface it may feel like the Cardinals as a team have underperformed, but there are still some players who are playing well in a bad situation.

Redbird Rants' own Miranda Remaklus recently wrote about 7 players who are falling out of favor with fans. Put another way, those 7 players are underperforming this year. While most of the team is middling, there are still some players who have played well and given the team a fighting chance in certain games.

I will be using ZiPS preseason projections to compare current performance with preseason projections.

These 8 players are outpacing their preseason projections.

Ivan Herrera

Ivan Herrera has been thrust into the starting catcher spot after Willson Contreras fractured his arm. Even before he was a full-time starter, Herrera was performing well offensively. As of May 14th, Ivan Herrera has a .274/.330/.393 slash line, good for a 108 OPS+. ZiPS projected Herrera to have just a 91 OPS+ in 414 plate appearances.

Herrera is outperforming his offensive projections, but his defense has left a little to be desired. Herrera was never known for his receiving and pop time, but he has improved each year behind the dish. He has been about league average at framing, but his pop time, blocking, and caught-stealing rate are all below average.

Since taking over as the full-time catcher, Ivan Herrera has gone off. In the last 7 days, he has a .474/.546/.474 slash line with 2 RBIs. While his defense hasn't taken off just yet, his bat has contributed majorly to the team. With full reign of the starting catching position for the next 8 weeks or so, Herrera can prove his worth to the organization.