Yadier Molina is among the greatest catchers in baseball historical past and, certainly, one of the best to put on the Birds on the Bat. So, evaluating a rising prospect to the St. Louis Cardinals‘ legendary backstop isn’t any mild comparability. Geoff Pontes from Baseball America stated, “(Bernal) is the true inheritor to Molina.”
Pontes pointed at Bernal’s development, yr over yr, getting higher and higher at quite a lot of points of his recreation. The Cardinals’ latest backstop arrived in September and made a direct impression in the midst of the Cardinals lineup and on the defensive facet of the ball as properly.
Leo Bernal Dazzled In First MLB Motion
On the defensive facet, Bernal was a stalwart, profitable the Minor League Gold Glove in 2025 as a catcher. He brings a chunk that was lacking within the try and make Ivan Herrera the crew’s No. 1 catcher: catch and throw.
Bernal had 25 probabilities to throw out runners within the 20 video games he spent behind dwelling plate for St. Louis this season. He threw out six. Which, on paper, appears mild, however when in comparison with the league common, Bernal was simply above the caught-stealing proportion in Main League Baseball this season.
It was not solely his glove and arm that have been the shining components for Bernal within the ultimate month of the season, but in addition his bat.
St. Louis was with out depth of their lineup for a superb portion of the season. The season began with Masyn Winn batting within the cleanup spot, however with the emergence of Jordan Walker, the lineup began to take form.
The one problem was that after opponents bought previous the fourth spot within the St. Louis order, the thump started to vanish. Lars Nootbaar provided some assist earlier than the commerce deadline, however points remained.
After Joshua Baez made his electrical MLB debut, hitting three dwelling runs in his first three at-bats, it regarded just like the Cardinals began to get some solutions.
Then Bernal arrived, hitting .284 with 5 dwelling runs and 21 RBIs in 102 plate appearances. Deepening the Cardinals lineup much more and incomes his strategy to be the beginning catcher when the 2027 season begins.
St. Louis Cardinals Had A Prolonged Search For Molina’s Successor
It’s tough to instantly discover the successor to a long-standing determine on a crew; have a look at the New York Yankees‘ shortstops after Derek Jeter’s retirement. In 2023, the record was 18 gamers lengthy earlier than Anthony Volpe arrived and properly earlier than George Lombard Jr.
Clearly, changing a franchise staple is tough, and St. Louis confronted that after the 2022 season when Molina walked off the sector at Busch Stadium for the ultimate time as a participant.
Since then, the Cardinals have signed and traded away Willson Contreras. Have used Pedro Pages, Jimmy Crooks, Herrera, and now Bernal on the identical patch of dust that Molina commanded for 19 years. The 22-year-old Panama-born backstop has loads of catching as much as do if he’s to achieve the heights that Molina did in his profession. However because the retirement of the long run Corridor of Famer, no Cardinals catcher has been in a position to fill the opening left within the Cardinals group.
Time will inform if Bernal is the actual deal, however after his first month, the indicators are there that he might be the subsequent particular Cardinals catcher.
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