Ivan Herrera was the only member of the Cardinals in the MLB Network Top 100.
The St. Louis Cardinals got a sad realization over the last week, when it was revealed that they have only one player in the MLB Network Top 100 for 2026. Catcher Ivan Herrera checked in at No. 98 while guys like Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn and Brendan Donovan failed to make the list.
Not only did the Cardinals have just one player on the list, Herrera's No. 98 ranking was the lowest spot for any team's top ranked player, as noted by Codify Baseball.
About Herrera#
A 25-year-old from Panama, Herrera made his major league debut in 2022. Since then, he's hit .286 with a .370 on-base percentage, also popping 24 career home runs. Nineteen of those came in 2025, along with 66 RBIs. It was by far his most productive big-league season, as 2022 and 2023 represented brief cameos in the big leagues.
He carried an OPS+ of 136 and will represent one of the best offensive options for the Cardinals by the time the offseason rebuild is over. St. Louis has already traded Willson Contreras and could trade Donovan away as well.
About the list#
Reigning National League MVP Shohei Ohtani was listed at No. 1, while American League MVP Aaron Judge was No. 2. Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals was No. 3 and Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners was No. 4. Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians was No. 5. Juan Soto was No. 6, Tarik Skubal was No. 7, Paul Skenes was No. 8 and Corbin Carroll was No. 9. Vladimir Guerrero checked in at No. 10.
Skenes and Skubal both won Cy Young Awards in the 2025 campaign.
Also of note#
Herrera will represent Team Panama at the upcoming World Baseball Classic, making him one of two members of the 40-man roster to play in the event. Reliever Riley O'Brien will play for Team Korea while prospect JJ Wetherholt was denied the opportunity to do the same.
One more thing#
The Fangraphs Zips projections for the Cardinals came out on Friday morning, and the outlet seems to think the Cardinals will grade out as average in most ways.
That said, they've given Wetherholt a solid projection. The No. 3 prospect in baseball by Baseball America, ZIPS thinks he'll hit .254 with 10 homers, 62 RBIs, 20 doubles and 12 steals.
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