Cardinals Prospect Leo Bernal Is Knocking on the MLB Door

The St. Louis Cardinals should be keeping a close eye on Leo Bernal.

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leonardo Bernal (13) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals have some difficult decisions coming with the catcher position coming in the not-so-distant future.

Right now, the Cardinals have Iván Herrera, Jimmy Crooks and Pedro Pagés on the big league roster. When it comes to Herrera, he earned his first All-Star nod this season and is excellent offensively. So far this season, he's slashing .252/.361/.396 with a .757 OPS, 13 home runs and 50 RBIs in 118 games played. But he's not great behind the plate. He's in the first percentile in caught stealing above average, 17th percentile in pop time, and 36th percentile in framing.

Crooks is better defensively, but his bat hasn't translated to the big leagues yet. Before he was promoted to the majors, he was batting .262 with 13 homers and 29 RBIs in Triple-A in 39 games. In the majors, he's batting .178 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 41 games. Then, you have Pagés. He's solid behind the plate and great with the pitchers, but also hasn't been able to hit.

So, the Cardinals have three options they need to think about in the majors, as well as two legit prospects at the top of the system in Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 1 prospect) and Leo Bernal (No. 6 prospect). Soon enough, the Cardinals are going to have to decide who to keep behind the plate in the majors, who to move around positions, who to keep in the majors, and who to try to trade. There are only so many innings to go around.

The Cardinals Should Be Watching Leo Bernal Closely

Feb 17, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leonardo Bernal (13). Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With that being said, arguably Bernal should get a look in the majors in the not-so-distant future, and definitely before the 2026 season comes to an end. He has been good enough down in Triple-A to believe that he's knocking on the door to the majors.

Bernal is 22 years old and is in Triple-A right now. He's been knocking the door down and is slashing .282/.365/.480 with an .845 OPS, 14 home runs and 68 RBIs in 87 games played. It's important to note that Crooks was crushing in Triple-A before coming up to the majors and struggling. It's not easy to make the jump.

But one thing that stands out with Bernal is the fact that he strikes out significantly less than Crooks. Crooks struck out 52 times in 39 games in Triple-A. That's 1.33 times per game. Bernal has struck out just 73 times total this season in 87 games. That's 0.83 times per game. A clear difference and reason for optimism that his production could carry over.

A good time to make a change would be on Sep. 1 when rosters expand. The rosters expand from 26 players to 28. At that time, they could easily add Bernal to the mix and make a change elsewhere. One thing that makes Bernal stand out is the fact that he has gotten playing time at first base this season as well. So, realistically, he could fill in behind Alec Burleson as well if promoted.

At the end of the day, the Cardinals are going to need to see what Bernal can do. Crooks is struggling and so the time should come in the near future.