A Position-by-Position Check on the Cardinals’ 2026 Season

To do this, I will compare the January ZiPS projections , position by position, to the team's actual production thus far. The ZiPS overview graphic is based on the Depth Charts projection at that point in time, so I will use that to reference the players' expected playing time.

It will take a hot finish for the catching cohort to catch up to the preseason ZiPS projection. Depth Charts had pegged Pedro Pages for over half the catcher playing time with Herrera, Pozo, and Crooks slated for about 100 plate appearances each. Pages has underperformed slightly and Herrera's poor defense has allowed him to accrue only 1.1 WAR at catcher despite a 129 wRC+ when behind the plate. The biggest driver of the miss is Crooks' 0.1 WAR in 45 games.

You do have to give the Cardinals credit for sticking to the Herrera experiment all season. I do not have a developed enough eye for scouting catcher defense to say if he has improved throughout the year, but his season defensive stats leave much to be desired. My hope is that there is clear communication going into the offseason regarding Herrera's defensive home in 2027. This will go a long way toward clarifying the catcher logjam. As far as the remainder of this season, it would be great to see Crooks finish strong with the bat. He has been difficult to watch at times, but with his track record of minor league performance, he still has plenty of upside to dream on.