Talented Slugger Called Cardinals' 'Most Valuable Young Player'

The St. Louis Cardinals have quite a lot of young talent on their roster and in their farm system. While they might not be World Series contenders this season, the future has quite the potential to be bright.

Of their talented young players, some hold more value than others, partly because of age, potential, or position.

Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants recently called Iván Herrera the 'most valuable young player' on the Cardinals.

"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," Jacobs wrote. "So, Herrera holds special value for this Cardinals club as it balances itself long-term, and he looks like he'll be the centerpiece of that lineup moving forward.

"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."

If Herrera sticks as a catcher, it's hard to argue there will be a more valuable player to the team. The Cardinals are getting incredible offensive production from a player who plays a defensive-first position.

If Herrera slides into an everyday designated hitter role, I would take players like Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II as more valuable to the team, but that's not to undermine Herrera's value as a hitter.

As of now, the Cardinals are getting incredible production from the slugger and that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon.