Young Cardinals hitter receives stunning comparison to Albert Pujols

Ivan Herrera is becoming appointment viewing when he steps up to the plate. The St. Louis Cardinals catcher has a .385 average and ranks among the best hitters in baseball. Bernie Miklasz, a sports writer and one of the hosts of the "Cardinal Territory" podcast, along with Katie Woo, was highly complimentary of Herrera and made a wink-wink, nudge-nudge comparison of his style of play to that of Albert Pujols.

Miklasz didn't mention Pujols by name, but his comment on Herrera being similar to "a guy I met for the first time in 2001" and his subsequent attempts to caution people from getting too out over their skis about the 24-year-old made it abundantly clear that he was comparing Herrera to El Hombre.

Miklasz mentioned that Herrera's style of play resembles that of Pujols.

It is, of course, a stretch to say that Herrera's career will ever come close to matching that of perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter of his generation, but Miklasz mentioned that their main similarity was in their personas at the plate, such as their physical presence, attitude and intelligence. Herrera has a preternatural feel for swinging the bat and appears to have no weaknesses at the dish, hitting for contact and power while taking a decent number of walks. He leads the major leagues in wRC+ (254) among players with at least 40 plate appearances; the great Aaron Judge is one point behind him. Herrera has walloped nine extra-base hits in 12 games, and even after missing a month because of an injury, he has needed no time to readjust, hitting .389 since his return on May 9.

Pujols is the flashy comparison, but a more sensible one is former Cardinals outfielder and first baseman Allen Craig. Prior to a leg injury that derailed his career, Craig was a consistent .300 hitter with pop that could have reached 25 home runs in a season had he remained healthy. Craig was the first bona fide middle-of-the-order bat that the Cardinals had developed since Yadier Molina, and the most recent until Herrera's explosion placed him in the same category.

Where the Pujols comparisons fall short is on defense. The Machine won two Gold Glove Awards at first base, but Herrera needs to make massive strides to be considered an average catcher. His arm is a significant liability, as he has already allowed seven stolen bases in 2025 and hasn't thrown out a runner taking a base.

The Cardinals could consider a position switch, as they did with Pujols in his early days when they shifted him from left field to first base. At 5-foot-11, Herrera is shorter than is ideal for a first baseman, so designated hitter may be his ultimate fate. The Cardinals shouldn't make him a full-time DH at this point, though, as he still has a chance to improve his defense. Fans only need to look at Jordan Walker to see how much a young player can grow in the field if given the right coaching.

Herrera could be the Cardinals' best development story in at least a decade, and though he will likely never meet Pujols' Herculean feats, he has a chance to carve out a truly distinguished career.