Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Might Have NL Version Of Yankees' Aaron Judge

The Cardinals have a star on their hands...
Patrick McAvoy|
May 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Carlos Vargas (not pictured) during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images
May 14, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge (99) hits a solo home run off Seattle Mariners pitcher Carlos Vargas (not pictured) during the eighth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images | John Froschauer-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsNew York Yankees

The St. Louis Cardinals have a budding superstar on their hands in catcher Iván Herrera.

Herrera has gotten his first, real taste of a consistent opportunity this season and he has made the most of it to this point. The Cardinals have been looking for a young slugger to take a step for a while and it seems like Herrera is that guy. He missed time this season with a knee injury, but right now is back and is red-hot.

Herrera has appeared in 13 games and is slashing .419/.480/.907 with five homers, 18 RBIs, six doubles, 12 runs scored, and 18 base hits overall. He also has an eye-popping OPS of 1.387. It's aggressive to compare anyone to Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, but Herrera's hot streak right now is looking pretty similar to what the slugger has been able to do, although Judge has played 44 games.

Judge has appeared in 44 games and is slashing .414/.500/.775 with 15 homers, 41 RBIs, 42 runs scored, and 70 base hits. Judge's OPS is 1.275.

If you were to project Herrera's numbers out to 44 games like Judge, he would be on pace for 16 homers, 60 RBIs, 40 runs scored, and 60 base hits. Now, this doesn't necessarily matter because Herrera hasn't played in 44 games. But, that just goes to show how good of a season he has had to this point.

St. Louis has a star on its hand.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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