Cardinals Have a Spark as Iván Herrera's Early Struggles Are Over

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Iván Herrera is quietly red-hot for the organization right now.

Herrera's number may not be as explosive on paper right now as they were throughout the 2025 season. He entered the day on Thursday slashing .248/.406/.419 with an .825 OPS, four homers, 17 RBIs, 27 walks, 10 doubles and 21 runs scored. In 2025, Herrera finished the season slashing .284/.373/.464 with an .837 OPS, 19 homers, 66 RBIs, 43 walks, 13 doubles and 54 runs scored in 107 games played.

Herrera's homer numbers aren't huge so far this season, but the young slugger is just three doubles from his entire 2025 total, which is a bit surprising.

The 25-year-old had a slow start to the season, but he has been an on-base machine recently. In fact, Herrera entered the day on Thursday with a 22-game on-base streak.

The Cardinals Slugger Is Turning It On

Apr 25, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter Ivan Herrera (48) reacts after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Iván Herrera enters tonight's game against the Padres with a career-best on-base streak of 22 games (.430 OBP), 4th-longest active in MLB and longest by a Cardinal this season. #stlcards pic.twitter.com/uROPvioSjl
— Cardinals Dude (@Turn2Dude) May 7, 2026

Over the 22 games, Herrera has slashed .288/.430/.525 with a .955 OPS, four homers and 11 RBIs. All four of his homers on the season so far have come on this hot streak. His batting average has improved from .184 on April 11 to .248 entering the day on Thursday.

He's a big reason why the Cardinals have been hot lately. While his box score numbers may not seem massive right now, he already has 1.1 wins above replacement, which is halfway to the 2.2 wins above replacement that he logged in 2025 in 107 games played.

Pretty much everything about his season so far has been positive. His offense is picking up in a major way and he has been able to get some time behind the plate and has been better defensively than he was. In 2025, Herrera only got into 14 games behind the plate due to injuries. So far this season, he already has played in 13 games as the club's catcher. That increases his flexibility and allows the club to use the designated hitter spot elsewhere, like with Nolan Gorman.

Herrera has been overshadowed so far this season by guys like Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, JJ Wetherholt, and Michael McGreevy. But don't forget about the 25-year-old. He should be in the same conversation as Walker, Wetherholt Winn, and McGreevy as a core piece for this club moving forward and he's playing like it right now. Herrera is yet another reason why Cardinals fans should be excited about this club right now.

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