Re-ranking the value of the Cardinals' 10 best young position players

6. Ivan Herrera (Previous ranking: #8)

If you've been following the Cardinals at all this season, you'll know that catcher Ivan Herrera has made it extremely difficult for manager Oli Marmol to leave him out of the lineup on any given day.

Herrera has always been well-regarded as a hitter, but few expected him to take the kind of step forward he has at the plate so far this year. After posting an OPS north of .900 in Triple-A last year, Herrera has an .856 OPS through his first 34 at-bats this season and has been one of the top-3 hitters for St. Louis.

Questions are beginning to emerge as to how the Cardinals can get Herrera into the lineup as often as possible, and for good reason. Marmol has been open to the idea of starting both Contreras and Herrera whenever it makes sense, and he should continue to do so unless Herrera cools off.

There are already some who believe Herrera could end up being a trade piece for St. Louis, but I would be surprised to see the Cardinals let a young catcher with that kind of talent go. I know Willson Contreras is going to be a significant piece for years to come, but he'll likely catch less and less as each season goes on. Herrera is just 23 years old with six years of club control remaining, there is no reason to let him go right now.

Herrera could find himself rising up this list in the near future if he continues this level of production. I want a bigger sample size before I have him jumping past other players on this list, but Cardinals fans know how valuable a top-end catcher can be. I think the Cardinals may have just developed another one.

It is so difficult to find catchers who can hit at a high level, and the Cardinals have two of them. Both Herrera and Contreras have taken strides defensively as well, making it easy to see how they could form the best catching duo in baseball for years to come.