St. Louis Cardinals’ Prospect Leonardo Bernal Looks Like Quite A Catch
Leonardo Bernal has four catchers ahead of him on the St. Louis Cardinals’ depth charts. In a couple of years, the 20-year-old prospect could be No. 1.
That’s his goal as he continues his 2024 season with the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. The switch-hitter batted a modest .250 with one homer in his first nine games. Not exactly Hall of Fame numbers, but the six-foot, 245-pound native of Panama is doing more under the Arizona sun
“You watch this kid and he hustles every second,” said a scout from a rival National League team during a recent game at Glendale. “He’s got good hands, essential behind the plate and it helps him at bat. He’s got good power from the left side, doesn’t seem as confident right-handed. But he’s 20. Let’s see where he goes. I think he can be an above-average catcher, maybe more, in the majors.”
Bernal is working on defense after a fine season behind the plate, where he threw out 34% of runners attempting to steal. He went 38-of-70 at High-A Peoria and 2-for-6 at Double-A Springfield.
With the game slowly reverting to more running since the use of larger bases and limiting the number of pickoff throws, a catcher controlling opponents on the bases becomes more important.
The MLB active career leader in nailing runners is Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals at 33%. Cardinals starter Willson Contreras is 10th at 28.6%. Contreras may be moving to first base for the three years left on his five-year, $87.5 million contract. The team has disappointed the past two years and management is conducting a rebuild.
The other two catchers on St. Louis’ big-league roster in 2024 were not nearly as adept at shutting down runners. Pedro Pages had a 19% (14-of-61) rate and Ivan Herrera was a woeful 7% (4-for-59).
The other minor-leaguer in the system ahead of Bernal is Jimmy Crooks. He tossed out 33% (25-of-76) of runners trying to steal at Springfield.
The gold standard of catchers still in the hearts of Cardinals fans is Yadier Molina. He retired after the 2022 season with a remarkable 40% caught-stealing rate over 19 seasons.
Don’t Forget To Hit
Offense is important, too. That’s where Contreras has always shone and what led to the club paying him so much as a free agent in 2023.
Bernal matches favorably with the three younger catchers.
Pages hit .238 with 7 homers in 68 games as a rookie in 2024. He had a .256 average in 340 games in the minors. Herrera is the better contact hitter, batting .280 in 440 games in the minors and .289 in 96 games for St. Louis.
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