Leo Bernal Made Absurd Cardinals History in Just 10 Games

The St. Louis Cardinals have a potential catcher of the future on their hands in Leo Bernal.

Sep 11, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal (13) hits a one run single against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Sep. 1, the St. Louis Cardinals gave an elite catching prospect a shot in the big leagues for the second time in 2026.

The Cardinals' system is loaded with catching talent and it was Jimmy Crooks who got the shot earlier in the campaign. As the calendar flipped to September, Cardinals No. 7 prospect Leo Bernal finally got his opportunity and he has made the most of it. In fact, his 12 RBIs in his first 10 games of his big league career are actually the most by a member of the Cardinals since RBI became an official stat back in 1920, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.

"Leo Bernal's 12 RBI in his first ten games are the most by any Cardinal in the first ten games of their career since RBI became an official stat in 1920," Jones wrote.

What A Run

Sep 11, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) celebrates with catcher Leo Bernal (13) after the Cardinals defeated the Chicago White Sox at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That's just absurd. There have been plenty of red-hot debuts for the Cardinals over the years. JJ Wetherholt burst onto the scene this season, including a homer in his big league debut. Think back a few years ago to when Jordan Walker debuted in 2023. He was electric and historically good right away, before leveling off until the 2026 season. The list goes on. But no one has done what Bernal has been able to do from an RBI standpoint.

Overall, Bernal has played in 10 games in his big league career so far and he has slashed .325/.386/.525 with a .911 OPS, two home runs, 12 RBIs, and two doubles. That's not all, though. He has a 159 OPS+. OPS+ is an advanced metric that attempts to show how a player performs against the average. 100 is an average offensive player. So, Bernal has been 59 percent better than the average offensive player since his big league debut.

Now, of course, 10 games is a small sample size. But if he can keep this up, we're talking about truly elite potential. For example, Shohei Ohtani has an OPS+ of 147 this season. There are few ways to better illustrate just how good Bernal has been.

When the Cardinals promoted Crooks earlier in the season, this is the type of production they likely hoped they'd get. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Bernal has now gotten his shot and he looks like the real deal. Plus, it's important to note that he's already elite defensively. Last year, he won the MiLB Gold Glove Award behind the plate. So, defense is a given at this point when it comes to Bernal. The biggest question is the offense and he has stepped up to the plate. If he can keep this up, we're talking about a potential catcher of the future in St. Louis.