2025 Fantasy Baseball: Ivan Herrera Profile, Preview, Predictions
For a fantasy drafter looking for a cheat C2, Ivan Herrera should have a circle around his name. He has breakout upside if the Cardinals give him five starts a week. The cloudiness of his playing time creates a better price point, a mistake by fellow drafters.
On Opening Day, Iván Herrera CRUSHES his first career home run 414 feet! 💣#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/GU4Sc6EsnC
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 4, 2024
C – Ivan Herrera (ADP – 235.5)
Over seven seasons in the minors, Herrera hit .280 with 267 runs, 49 home runs, 272 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases over 1,577 at-bats. He has 622 at-bats of experience at AAA (.281/125/21/110/19). His walk rate (17.2) was elite while having a favorable strikeout rate (19.3).
The Cardinals gave him 37 at-bats of experience in 2023, leading to a .297 batting average with six runs and four RBIs. He struck out 25.0% of the time with strength in his walk rate (11.4).
An injury to Willson Contreras last season led to Herrera getting a bump in playing time. Unfortunately, from April to June, his bat failed to make a fantasy impact over 172 at-bats (.279 with 24 runs, three home runs, 19 RBIs, and four stolen bases). After a trip back to AAA, Herrera played much better over his final 18 games with St. Louis (.368/13/2/8/1 over 57 at-bats). He finished with a league-average strikeout rate (20.5) while grading favorably in his walk rate (9.7).
Fantasy Outlook: Based on minor league success at AAA and a half season of at-bats with the Cardinals, Herrera offers sneaky upside to a fantasy team, thanks to his value in five categories for the catcher position. St. Louis has a viable second catcher (Pedro Pages) who offers power but a lower ceiling.
With 400+ at-bats, I expect a positive batting average for Herrera with a 55/10/50/10 profile as his floor. He should outperform his ADP, and I envision him delivering a J.T. Realmuto 2016 season with a better approach. In 15-team formats, Herrera will be an advantage at C2.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.