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The St. Louis Cardinals have a rich history of catchers throughout their organization’s history. From Yadier Molina to Mike Matheny and Ted Simmons, without forgetting Tim McCarver, Darrell Porter, and Tom Pagnozzi, the Cardinals always seemed to have someone behind the plate they could trust.

Since Molina retired, though, the organization has gone through a transition of their own at the catcher position. Willson Contreras was brought in to be a stopgap option, but the Cardinals probably expected that to last longer than a season. A fractured forearm brought Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera to the dish, but neither has shown much on the offensive side in Pages’ case or the defensive side for Herrera to assert himself as the catcher of the future. The team may not have to look far for that, though, as their catching prospect depth is impressive and seemingly flush with future backstops, with three of their top six prospects looking like they can stick as catchers. Leonardo Bernal, though, is standing out as he puts together a great season at Double-A Springfield.

Catching prospect Leonardo Bernal has thrown himself firmly in the top prospect conversation.

While Jimmy Crooks gets the opportunity to prove himself as the starting catcher at Triple-A Memphis and Rainiel Rodriguez earns awards and shoutouts from the front office, Bernal has quietly become a prospect to watch. The Cardinals brought in Bernal from Panama in 2021, and he became the team’s 11th-ranked prospect in 2023. After his progress at the professional level, the switch-hitter now sits as the organization’s fifth-best prospect, sandwiched between Crooks and Rodriguez.

Coming into the season, I covered Bernal in a piece where fans could buy “stock” in the 21-year-old and receive returns in the form of a percentage of his major league salary if he were to make the bigs. That was my first real look at the Panamanian, and since then, I have continued to follow him a little closer. His growth in 2025 has been notable on both sides of the ball and has made me at least ponder if a current catcher on the roster could be a trade piece to begin the catcher progression through the minor leagues.

Last season, Bernal played a total of 110 games, with 14 of those coming at Double-A. While spending most of the year with Peoria, Bernal hit .270 with 10 homers and a .762 OPS. Defensively, he threw out 34% of runners between both levels, an increase from the 22% he put up in 2023. This year, though, the youngster has put together an even better season while receiving the bulk of the starts with Springfield. In 50 games, he is hitting .290 with 11 homers, seven stolen bases, and an .895 OPS, which are all career highs already. He continues to walk at a high rate while showing great plate coverage. His control of the running game improved even further, with Bernal now throwing out 38% of would-be base stealers.

Both catchers on the major league roster are 25 years old, Crooks is 23 years old, and Rodriguez is only 18, so there is no rush to push any of these players along to the next level. Bernal is only 21 himself, so he most likely has plenty of development left, especially without having played above Double-A. With Ivan Herrera on the shelf again, his catching future is in doubt. Pages has shown he is a capable catcher, but with these prospects waiting in the wings, who have all shown potential, the Cardinals may have to make a tough decision to shore up other parts of their roster.