No one will ever be Yadier Molina, but someone has to take on the mantle of starting catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals moving forward. While others have filled the gap in recent years, rookie Leo Bernal looks like he may be the answer to bringing long-term stability to the position once again.
The Cardinals’ No. 7 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Bernal made his Major League debut this past week at Dodger Stadium and immediately looked the part. The Cardinals have a high bar for what they value in a backstop, so for Bernal to instantly look like a veteran behind the dish, that is extremely impressive.
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Signed as an international amateur free agent out of Panama back in 2021, Bernal rose through the Cardinals' system due to his defensive prowess and brought with him a promising bat as well. Winner of the 2025 Minor League Gold Glove, Bernal does an excellent job controlling the running game from behind the plate and pairs that with strong receiving and framing abilities.
Since last year, the Cardinals have continued to work with Bernal on his game preparation and feel for pitching staffs, and he drew strong reviews for that work all season long. Now just 22 years old, Bernal is getting his feet wet with the Major League staff, and he’s looked calm, cool, and collected in each start so far.
The best example of that presence thus far was actually during an inning where Bernal made multiple mistakes behind the dish on Saturday night against the Rockies.
With the Cardinals up, 3-2, with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and runners on first and second, Bernal tried to steal a strike at the bottom of the strike zone for Matthew Liberatore, but in doing so, had the ball bounce off his glove and roll to the backstop. Both runners advanced because of that mistake, and Bernal would be the first to tell you he should have had that.
In a 3-2 count in that same at-bat, Bernal was unable to corral Liberatore’s curveball in the dirt, allowing the runner at third to score, and thus tying the ballgame. It was a tough pitch for sure, but one he’d like to have back, and his lapse earlier in that at-bat is what put the runner on third to begin with.
And then with runners on first and third and Luis Gastelum entering the game for Liberatore, Jake McCarthy took off on the first pitch, but Bernal’s throw to second was short of the bag and took a bad bounce into the outfield grass, allowing another run to score and McCarthy to advance to third and give the Rockies the lead.
It would be easy for a rookie in just his third start behind the dish to be rattled by that series of events, and yet, Bernal immediately put the hiccups behind him, leading off the next half-inning with a first-pitch line drive into left field. That’s the kind of presence that has the Cardinals especially excited about his future.
What separates Bernal from other catchers in the post-Molina era for St. Louis is his profile as a true all-around backstop. While Willson Contreras and Iván Herrera posted great numbers at the plate, their defense was the weaker part of their games. Pedro Pages does a great job guiding pitching staffs and controlling the running game, but has not produced at a high enough level offensively. Bernal is the best of both worlds.
A switch-hitter, Bernal can do damage from both sides of the plate and has recorded a hit in every single game he’s played so far. His .907 OPS through his first 27 plate appearances has helped drive the Cardinals’ offense, and he’s done so while consistently hitting the ball hard and having great command of his strike zone.
Bernal is just a few games into his young career, but things have gone about as well as the Cardinals could have asked for so far. The hope was for Bernal to get his feet wet ahead of competing for the starting job in 2027, and yet he already looks the part.
In today’s game, the catcher’s role is more of a shared responsibility. Bernal’s play has been encouraging, and having Herrera, fellow rookie Jimmy Crooks, and top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez gives the Cardinals many options for how they can handle navigating a 162-game season and hopefully postseason baseball as they build for the future.
No matter how the Cardinals decide to put those pieces together, Bernal looks to be the centerpiece of that equation for years to come.