How Herrera is growing in to his role: Shepherd of the pitching staff (2024)

CINCINNATI — When Brendan Donovan pulled in an inning-ending pop-up behind third base to strand a pair of runners in the sixth inning Wednesday, pitcher Andre Pallante wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow as he walked off the field and then bumped fists with his catcher Ivan Herrera.

Pallante and Herrera exchanged a smile on their way to the dugout, and Herrera then delivered the time-honored “attaboy” pat to Pallante’s backside.

Pallante threw more pitches (20) in his sixth and final inning than in any other inning. That pop-up got him out of the inning with a scoreless outing intact just as he’d about emptied his gas tank.

Pallante admitted postgame that he had doubts when Herrera called for the slider that resulted in the pop-up. He shared that doubt, after the fact, with Herrera.

“I told him to trust,” Herrera said with a grin as he dressed in the corner of the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. “That’s why I’m back there. The whole game, it’s going good. Sometimes you’ve just got trust it.

“I don’t know, maybe that guy hits that pitch, but we’ve been throwing him a lot of fastballs. That’s what’s going to play better there in that situation.”

Trust is a relatively small word, but it’s a large and intricate concept.

One pitch call at the end of an outing for Pallante can appear a brief and inconsequential moment on the surface, but it served as one of the latest signs of the growth Herrera has shown behind the plate as the club’s primary catcher in Willson Contreras’ absence.

Herrera surely has more room to grow, but his work with the pitching staff has been and will continue to be crucial for the Cardinals (27-27) as they hope to look more like a contending club going forward.

When Contreras suffered a fractured forearm in a game against the New York Mets earlier this month, the club seemed destined to go from struggling to downright woeful. Instead, they’ve won 12 of 18 games and climbed to .500 for the first time since mid-April.

Big step for Herrera this season

The Cardinals front office decided at the end of last season to make Herrera, who turns 24 on Saturday, Contreras’ backup. They paved the way when they nontendered established backup Andrew Knizner in November.

Of course, Cardinals brass wasn’t necessarily anticipating an injury that’ll likely sideline Contreras multiple months.

Herrera’s continued growth certainly played a part in the roster construction.

In May 2022, Herrera made his debut and triggered speculation that he’d be the heir apparent to Cardinals iconic catcher Yadier Molina. In retrospect, the Cardinals and Herrera came to acknowledge that Herrera simply wasn’t ready for that mantle.

In the time since his first exposure to the majors (he also played in 13 MLB games last season), Herrera has found the necessary footing to start earning trust.

“I think the biggest difference, and this is a work in progress, but the biggest difference is in his preparation,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “The game was very fast for him before this year, based on his preparation. ...

“And he’s done a much better job of diving into everything that goes into knowing our guys extremely well — what they do well, what they don’t do well, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are — but also diving into the opposition and seeing how those overlap and how you create a game plan for that day.”

Marmol said the input of pitching coach Dusty Blake, bullpen coach/assistant pitching coach Julio Rangel and assistant pitching coach Dean Kiekhefer has aided Herrera’s handling of the day-to-day duties as the primary catcher.

Herrera is also helped by a veteran-heavy starting rotation that features three starters with more than a decade each in the majors in Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Sonny Gray.

Miles Mikolas originally broke into the majors more than a decade ago but also spent three seasons pitching in Japan.

That level of experience from a rotation also demands a high level of attention to detail from a catcher when they sit down for their pregame meetings.

Have Herrera’s increased study habits been evident in his interactions with the pitchers and in their daily starter’s meeting?

“Yeah,” Marmol said before he added, “We have veteran starters that help with that, help him understand that even better. Because that pregame meeting is not where you figure things out. That’s where things are already figured out and we’re articulating how we’re going to execute. Him experiencing that with the staff that we have now is also going to help him.”

Earning his stripes with pitchers

Herrera said at the start of spring training that he aimed to spend more time catching as many bullpen sessions as he could with the club’s starters in order to develop a rapport and gain a greater insight into them and their pitches than he’d had in the past.

It’s all part of earning that trust Herrera referenced.

Mikolas, who was in the rotation when Herrera first came up in 2022, has seen the growth firsthand. Mikolas lauded the way Herrera stepped into Contreras’ shoes.

“There’s just a lot more maturity to it, a little bit more of a process, a little bit more consistent,” Mikolas said of Herrera’s preparation. “Obviously you get an injury to your No.1 catcher, the No. 2 guy realized he’s got to step up. And I think he’s done every bit of that.”

Aside from a knowledge of scouting reports and having an intimate understanding of each pitcher’s repertoire, the catcher has to also provide a steadying presence. In moments when a game teeters on the edge of unraveling or when a pitcher is navigating a potential minefield, he needs to be unshakeable.

“Sometimes it’s your first or second year, he’s coming up and things can move a little quick,” Mikolas explained. “But he has the ability to stay calm and keep the game at a manageable pace and be a rock back there. You want your catcher to be that guy when the (expletive) is hitting the fan, you want your guy back there to be cool, calm and collected. ...

“I think that’s a big part of that evolution as a catcher, realizing that that’s the guy you’ve got to be. I think he’s doing a good job of that.”

Increased opportunity, increased scrutiny

At the plate, Herrera took to the increased playing time and regular at-bats like a fish to water.

For the season, Herrera has batted .267 with three home runs, a .333 on-base percentage and a .350 slugging percentage.

Since he entered that May 7 game against the Mets to replace the injured Contreras, Herrera has batted .327 with a .413 on-base percentage and a .327 slugging percentage in 16 games (14 starts). Fellow rookie Pedro Pages has served as the backup catcher to Herrera.

Controlling the running game has been challenging for Herrera. Opponents have succeeded in 28 of 30 stolen base attempts with Herrera behind the plate.

“The throws would start on the right side of the bag, but they would cut. I was throwing cutters to second. Then I figured out I was kind crossing my body, so I had to force all the strength in my arm coming this way,” Herrera said as he made a high, loopy motion with his right arm. “So the throws would cut.”

Herrera and the coaching staff recognized Herrera had developed a habit of throwing across his body when throwing to second base, and they’ve targeted that in recent weeks.

He’s been working to adjust his footwork so he can put the ball more consistently on the first base side of the bag. He’s been encouraged by his more recent throws.

Herrera entered Thursday ranked 10th among major league catchers in the metric blocks above average, slightly ahead of Contreras in the overall blocking figures, though Contreras still held an edge when the metrics are broken down into blocks per game.

Herrera’s framing numbers trail well behind Contreras’ after the leap Contreras made this offseason. Herrera ranked 37th in catcher framing runs and 39th in strike rate, though his results in those categories are slightly better than what Knizner had produced in those same metrics in recent seasons.

There’s no reliable metric for self-assuredness, at least not yet.

As Herrera’s level of familiarity grows with each game, so does his willingness to grab control of situations and assert himself.

“Confidence comes from preparation, and I think my preparation has been good,” Herrera said. “I feel comfortable back there. I think I know what I’m doing.

“I try to really focus because I know everybody here is trying to win, and I don’t want to be the cause of us losing games. So I just prepare myself really good. I’m just trying to do anything to help the team win.”