Ranking the 10 most valuable young players in the St. Louis Cardinals organization

#1 - Ivan Herrera

All Ivan Herrera has done since becoming a big leaguer is mash, and with each passing game, he's further cementing himself as not just a critical part of the Cardinals' core, but I believe the central piece of their lineup moving forward.

I dove into this idea on Thursday, but for all of the attention that Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman have received, Herrera is the young bat who the Cardinals have been hoping to develop for over a decade now. Ever since the passing of Oscar Taveras, the Cardinals have been searching for that difference-making young bat that they've developed themselves. They've had various players over the years fill that role for small stretches, but never any true homegrown superstar talents.

Herrera is changing that.

Prior to last night's game, Herrera was slashing .419/.480/.907, an insane 1.387 OPS and 271 wRC+ on the year, slugging five home runs and 18 RBI in just 13 games. Since 2023, Herrera has been slashing .317/.392/.485, good for a 147 wRC+, which is the 11th-best in all of baseball.

I get that regression is coming for Herrea. He is hitting better than Aaron Judge so far this year, and we know that is not going to continue. But everything Herrera has shown us to this point in his big league career is that he is an elite hitter, the kind that can truly anchor the Cardinals' lineup for years to come.

It is kind of hard to believe that Herrera won't be 25 years old until June 1st, as he first made his brief big league debut for St. Louis back in 2022. I think some people began to get prospect fatigue with Herrera, causing them to fade him a bit in favor of the new prospects and young talents coming up. In reality, Herrera may be the best position player the Cardinals have produced in over a decade.

Even if Herrera can't stick at catcher long-term, that bat, if it continues at or near this rate, is so good that Herrera is the most valuable young player the club has. If he can figure out his arm issues behind the plate, Herrera truly has the potential to be one of the best players in all of baseball. Even if he is just a DH long-term, moves to first base, or perhaps even the outfield, he's going to start hearing his name in elite company if his bat is that productive.

There is an added layer of value that Herrera provides that is a bit specific to the Cardinals as well. If you look at this list, or even try and start listing off the Cardinals' best hitters, you'll notice that the majority of the ones they are building around long-term are left-handed. Nootbaar, Donovan, Wetherholt, and Scott, along with names like Gorman, Burleson, Chase Davis, Jimmy Crooks, and others, all bat from the left side. As far as young bats go, unless Jordan Walker figures things out, there is not a right-handed bat that could become a middle-of-the-order option that is not named Willson Contreras.

So, Herrera holds special value for this Cardinals club as it balances itself long-term, and he looks like he'll be the center piece of that lineup moving foward.

Herrera's development is the number one storyline I am watching for during the rest of the 2025 campaign. If he truly is the kind of player I think he is, this changes so much for this Cardinals club, and truly sets up Chaim Bloom to hit the ground running in 2026 with a strong young core headlined by a true superstar talent in Herrera.