Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' Iván Herrera Is Closer To Aaron Judge Than You'd Think

The Cardinals have a potential superstar on their hands...
Patrick McAvoy|
May 20, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
May 20, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsNew York Yankees

The New York Yankees have the best hitter in baseball right now in Aaron Judge.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is the best overall player and isn't far behind Judge offensively, but what the New York superstar is doing is absurd. Judge has appeared in 47 games so far this season and is slashing .403/.491/.762 with 16 homers, 43 RBIs, 13 doubles, two triples, four stolen bases, 45 runs scored.

Judge is leading the American League in wins above replacement (3.9), runs scored (45), base hits (73), homers (16), RBIs (43), batting average (.403), on-base percentage (.491), slugging percentage (.762), and OPS (1.253) among other categories.

At this point, you're probably thinking, 'Why am I reading an Aaron Judge article on the St. Louis Cardinals page?'

Well, talking about Judge's performance this season just shows how great Iván Herrera has been for St. Louis so far this season. He missed time due to a knee injury and only has appeared in 17 games, but he has been red-hot. Right now, he's slashing .439/.500/.807 with five homers, 21 RBIs, and six doubles. Herrera also has a 1.307 OPS.

Now, this is obviously a smaller sample size than Judge. Herrera has played less than half the games as the Yankees star this year so it's easy to say the sample size is too small.

But, the Cardinals shared on social media on Tuesday that Herrera actually has the second-best batting average in the entire league since the beginning of the 2024 season with a minimum of 300 plate appearances and is just behind Judge.

It's tough to compare anyone to Judge, but Herrera is playing at that level right now.

More MLB: Should Cardinals Give St. Louis Fan-Favorite Second Shot?

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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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