If you're a St. Louis Cardinals fan, it's safe to say that you should be very excited about the upside of young backstop Leo Bernal .
Bernal had a cup of coffee in the majors in 2026 and slashed .284/.333/.474 with an .807 OPS, five home runs, 21 RBIs, seven walks, three doubles and 12 runs scored in 24 games played. Bernal is known as an elite defensive player. In 2025, he won the Minor League Gold Glove Award behind the plate. His bat has caught up. In his 24 games in the majors, he had a 128 OPS+, meaning he was 28 percent better than the average. Bernal is the real deal and is still just 22 years old. He's going to enter the 2027 season as the starter , at least initially, and the hype is growing around him. So much so that Baseball America called him the likely "true heir" to franchise legend Yadier Molina.
"I think this guy is another one who could be a 4-5 WAR player pretty easily," Baseball America's Geoff Pontes said . "He probably is the Cardinals' true heir to [Yadier Molina]."
This is a lofty take, but it goes to show how highly Bernal is regarded around the league. There isn't a player who is going to fully live up to what Molina did in St. Louis. It's important to note that. And, frankly, no one should be trying to do what Molina did, but instead chart their own path. Molina is a franchise legend and will go down as one of the best overall catchers in big league history.
Sep 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal (13) looks to the Cardinals dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
He finished his career with 10 All-Star nods, two World Series titles, nine Gold Glove Awards, four Platinum Gloves and a Silver Slugger Award. Plus, he won the Roberto Clemente Award once. He was the total package.
Since he retired, the Cardinals have been looking for the next guy. That has included Willson Contreras, Ivan Herrera , Jimmy Crooks and even Pedro Pages has gotten a lot of time behind the plate. Bernal has the potential to be better than all of them. Of this group, none have the two-way upside that Bernal does. He showed that he can really hit down the stretch and that isn't even his top trait . His defense is good enough that he could win a Gold Glove Award as soon as 2027 with consistent playing time.
Bernal is just 22 years old. It's a lot of pressure to put on anyone to compare them to Molina. But he has lived up to the hype so far.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/cardinals/onsi as Loud Hype Around Cardinals Catcher Leo Bernal Speaks Volumes .
