Reader Mailbag, Part 2: The catcher conundrum, draft flexibility, Alec Burleson, Blaze Jordan, Iván Herrera optimism, imaginary ballparks, and more
Readers have questions, writer has answers -- some of them possibly correct and coherent
Round one of this most recent mailbag is in the books, and now it’s time for round two. Note that some of these contributions were made a few days ago and may not reflect current statistical realities.
Let’s start with some questions about the catcher situation.
Ken writes:
It seems obvious what the Cardinals have in Pedro Pages: a solid defensive catcher whom the pitchers like throwing to but is (very) limited offensively. Would love to see Crooks called up for an extended look, especially after his hot start at the plate in Memphis. Let’s play the young guys, right? … How do you see the catcher log jam playing out? I know it’s early but I’m tired of watching Pages leave RISP.
Eric H writes:
Is there an explanation for Marmol’s fetish for using Pages as the primary catcher? I’m perplexed because he’s a terrible hitter and his defensive prowess is nowhere near good enough to justify his usage. I just don’t see him as a young Yadier Molina (whose bat took a few years to catch up) but perhaps some in the organization do? What more does Crooks need to prove before leapfrogging Pages on the depth chart?
Kyle writes:
There’s a lot of talk about Pages and Pozo these days… setting aside the orgs fetish w Pages behind the plate, and setting aside that we’d all like Pozo to get a few more starts, IF Herrera is to be a guy that catches 60-80 games a year and DHs another 70, and IF the best hitter on the team is going to be a part-time catcher as Ivan is, then isn’t this roster “crunch” sort of unavoidable? Whether Pozo or Pages (or crooks or anyone else) is the backup, they’re hardly going to play or pinch-hit because no one expects a manager to routinely leave himself without a catcher on the bench for injury-replacement reasons. I know if I was a manager I wouldn’t often use my backup catcher to pinch hit when Herrera was DHing. Am I off base here?
I remain frustrated by the over-use of Pedro Pagés as the primary catcher. He’s not a productive hitter even by catcher standards, and the underlying batted-ball metrics don’t suggest he’s going to turn into a productive hitter anytime soon. He controls the running game well enough, but his framing and pitch-blocking leave something to be desired. He’s a backup costumed as a regular. He’d have utility in that former role, but he’s just being stretched right now. As for Yohel Pozo, yes, I’d like to see him get more playing time and be more than just a gently used pinch-hitter and third catcher. That said, I’m also realistic about his being a soon-to-be 29-year-old on his third organization who overall hasn’t really hit across limited exposure to big-league pitching.
On the Iván Herrera front, I think they’re still feeling out his workload capacity behind the plate and how the rigors of the position will affect his bat. As an aside, Herrera the hitter has struggled with his top-line results this season, but I’m not all that worried. Right now, Herrera has a wOBA of .288, but his xwOBA is all the way up at .372. That puts him in the 79th percentile in xwOBA, and the gap means he’s been roundly unlucky thus far. Among 278 qualifying hitters this season, Herrera has the 14th biggest gap when you subtract his wOBA from his xwOBA. Yes, I’m keeping one eye on the early uptick in his ground-ball percentage, but I expect Herrera will find his accustomed level at the plate soon enough.
Overall, this strikes me as a transition year at catcher. Jimmy Crooks is faring very well at Memphis both in terms of his production and his defense (1.82 pop time!). Chaim Bloom and company seem like they’re going to lean toward slow-playing call-ups and promotions, which strikes me as prudent, so I don’t think Crooks is pounding on the door just yet. The same goes for his fellow Triple-A catcher Leonardo Bernal, who’s seen more limited time behind the plate. Bernal surely becomes the regular in Memphis in the event of a Crooks call-up. Rainiel Rodriguez, who’s 19 and assigned to High-A, is more of a long-term consideration, and his potentially elite bat may inform his role.
This is a long way of saying I expect status quo until such time as Crooks arrives in St. Louis. At that point, Crooks likely becomes the primary catcher, and Crooks then has a job share with Herrera or is caddied by Pagés in a more traditional starter-backup arrangement. I don’t know when that will happen, and some of it depends upon Herrera’s innings tolerance behind the plate. Pozo may not be long for the active roster when Crooks is recalled.
Matt writes:
I was hoping this year’s team was going to be resilient, scrappy, and fun to watch...and with these cardiac Cards winning 5 games on amazing comebacks I’m loving it!! Cards TV has been pretty cool, but may go down for a couple games to see this group in person. The most surprising part to me has been Walker’s resurgence, or just getting out of his own head. See ball, hit ball, and he’s now hitting clean-up. I know there will be some growing pains, but they need to see this youth movement through and identify who they can build around and who could be sent packing in trades for upgrades.
Carrying 5 catchers on the 40 man is wearing a little thin, especially when Crooks is lighting it up in Memphis. Pozo should be sent down as he’s better when he plays more, I think. Pagés is a backup C, not sure why he’s getting all this work for the past couple of years. Crooks and Bernal look like the tandem of the future, so let’s start that transition now. Figure out what to do with Rodriguez when the time comes.
Still down on Burleson as most of the highlights for him come from clutch RBI singles, which are great in the big picture, but I’d prefer run scoring doubles that bounce off the wall or home run trots from the 1B position. His career OPS is .743 at this point, .783 on the year so far here in ‘26. He’s not a corner OF’er and could become a serviceable 1B’er over time, but now in his first year of arb so maybe pkg him, Pagés, and Church for some prospects at 1B once Noot is back with the team. Might as well see what they have with Blaze Jordan.
Do you see Ryan Mitchell as a CF of the future since they called him a CF when he was drafted? The infield seems crowded and I read somewhere that his defense wasn’t great when on the dirt. Would enjoy seeing him in CF and Padilla at 3B in ‘28. OF of Báez, Mitchell, and Walker would be pretty amazing if all their trajectories stay the path. VS II or Church would be ideal 4th OF types.
While some of the shine has come off those early vibes, it’s still a watchable squad, thanks largely at present to Jordan Walker’s otherworldly (and possibly somewhat sustainable) start to the season. The current three-game losing streak and the collapse of the offense at too many lineup spots have done some damage to all this early enthusiasm, which I definitely shared. It’s still early, though, and things could improve in an eye blink. That’s baseball.
Elsewhere, Alec Burleson has found his level in recent days, as he’s got an impressive OPS+ of 133 and an even more impressive xwOBA of .434. I think it’s worth seeing whether he has a higher gear in terms of power, and on that point I’d direct you to Burleson’s current xSLG of .616 as a promising early indicator.
Speaking of Blaze Jordan, he’s been thriving thus far at Memphis, and in terms of regular season play he’s been on a bit of a heater since the last week of August 2025. Jordan also plays a capable third base in addition to first base. Given Nolan Gorman’s ongoing struggles to make contact (he’s struck out in a third of plate appearances so far with a whiff rate of 35.7%), maybe it’s worth thinking about Jordan as a potential post-Gorman option at the hot corner should matters come to that.
Ryan Mitchell, a second-rounder out of a Memphis high school last draft, was a middle infielder who’s now transitioning to center field. He’s tooled up and should be able to make the switch just fine. Mitchell, who’s just 19, isn’t hitting yet at Palm Beach, but the sample size is small in this, high first professional season in the hitter’s graveyard that is the Florida State League. His bat will determine how quickly he moves through the system, but, yes, he’s a long-term possibility to fill that role in St. Louis. Well before that time comes, however, the Cardinals will reach a decision point with Victor Scott II and whether he has the bat to be an MLB starter. I definitely agree that Nathan Church does not profile as a regular, and it may be that Scott doesn’t, either.
Robert writes:
Why is too difficult to parse. How is too backwards looking. Who loses the forest for the trees. When, well now duh. Where is not germane. What? Yeaa.....what business does this 21st in OFFwar and 27th in PITwar team have being above .500?
As was the case when our man Robert submitted this contribution, the Cardinals are indeed outplaying their run differential. Going into Tuesday night’s game against Cleveland, the Cards are 8-8, but their minus-20 run differential suggests they should be 6-10. Clay Davenport’s third order standings, which also adjust for schedule strength, agree and see them as a 6-10 team rounded off. It’s too soon to reach too much into this, but the Cardinals aren’t going to continue being undefeated in one-run games (4-0) and in extras (3-0, all one-run games) or even win many games if they continue ranking near the bottom of the league in runs allowed.
Eric writes:
Is it too early to talk about May and Stanek as free agent busts?
Yeah, still too early. Eric asked this question prior to Dustin May’s promising start against the Red Sox on April 10. In May’s case, the hope is that he’ll find an underlying level that allows him to be a coveted trade piece leading up to the Aug. 3 deadline. Do so in a mere handful of July starts, and he’s got a market. It’ll be a while before we know whether he was a bust, but with a $12.5 million salary and a mutual option there’s not really significant downside. The sample is even smaller for Ryne Stanek, which is how it goes with relievers. While his control issues are always a consideration, he’s still flashing the big fastball and getting swing and miss with his slider. He’ll be fine, I would guess.
Jay writes:
It’s still early but what are Bloom/Oli doing with this bench? Pozo is a catcher who never catches, while Pages plays everyday and still can’t hit (also hasn’t been that great defensively). Fermin is a utility player who doesn’t play, despite Church looking like Siani 2.0 at the plate. These aren’t the “runway” guys, they’re the band-aids, Oli should be making moves faster and more frequently. And if it is a roster issue, is Bloom really worried about putting these guys through waivers?
It’s an odd bench with a bit too much infield redundancy for my tastes, and, as noted, Pozo has been too lightly used. I think some of the awkwardness stems from Bloom’s desire to keep as many players as possible within the organization coming out of spring training, which is a reasonable aim given current priorities. Somewhat related, I’d still like to see Thomas Saggese be the every-day left fielder during Lars Nootbaar’s absence. Saggese actually has a touch of long-term potential, but the surest way to snuff it out is to play him so irregularly. He needs consistent reps at the plate, and Church to my thinking shouldn’t be a priority ahead of him.
Don writes:
Not expecting a comprehensive list but are there any notable successful recent significant over slot players drafted? I am sure I am wrong but it seems like there’s always these over slot guys every year and few ever pan out. Daz Cameron is who my one track mind singles out.
This is a relevant question, given that the Cardinals supplemented their 2026 draft budget by adding a pair of competitive-balance picks in trade. Those extra picks help make up for the fact that the Cardinals slipped to No. 13 in the lottery, and it gives them budget flexibility to, as you broach, go over slot at some point and perhaps land a high-ceiling high school talent who slid because of signability concerns. Just last year, the Cardinals went significantly over-slot to sign the aforementioned Mr. Mitchell and buy him out of a commitment to Georgia Tech. The Pirates in 2021 went well above slot ($3 million bonus on a $871K assigned value) to ink current rookie starter Bubba Chandler and keep him away from a baseball and football commitment to Clemson. Going further back Lance McCullers Jr. was an above-slot signing for the Astros back in 2012. Those are just a handful of examples, and I would expect the Cardinals to swing big in this manner after the first round.
Jibby writes:
If you were allowed to design the field dimensions of an MLB park, what is one ridiculous or outlandish feature that you would put into the design, e.g., crazy wall, hill, etc.?
I’m thinking of the Polo Grounds ...
Except I’m partial to booming home runs to center field, so the layout would be inverted -- cavernous down the lines and in the alleys but cozy to the point of madness in center. This would make it something like a V shape. The batter’s eye would cast a shadow over the mound. Hit it up the middle or be righteously punished and put your center fielders in left and right. The actual center fielder would be forced to play so shallow that we’d see the occasional 8-3 putout. I see no possible unintended consequences.
Daily Quotes & Weekly Reads writes:
I was listening to the Cardinals Territory podcast recently and Kyle Gibson mentioned something along the lines of that with a 5-4 record, if the Birds on the Bat played at the exact same level for the remaining 153 games, their record would be either 89-73 or 90-72. Would this be an acceptable record to the fan base? (Personally, it would be for me from a record standpoint but I’m still hoping for more individual improvements as a success measure.)
My expectations remain kind of low, and anything .500 or better would be a very pleasing outcome for me. Contention would of course be an additional ladle of gravy, but I really don’t see that as likely. Getting to the high 80s in wins would probably light a fire under the fan base, especially given the young nature of the roster, but I don’t see much chance of that coming to pass. Right now, I’m feeling a win total in the mid-70s, but I reserve the right to revise this at a later date or pretend I never said it in the first place.
OK, that’ll do it for this time. Back soon with more.
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