Iván Herrera DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera went 3-for-4 with four RBI in Friday's 10-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. He has picked up right where he left off after missing some time due to a bone bruise in his left knee earlier in the year. The 24-year-old has gone 10-for-22 in his six games back and boasts an absurd slash line of .419/.480/.907 on the season. Herrera has a strong quality of contact metrics with a strikeout rate below 20%. Herrera is currently rostered in 50% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues, and fantasy managers should quickly pick him up in all formats as he has the potential to be a top-five fantasy catcher for the rest of the season.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera and outfielder Jordan Walker are not in the starting lineup on Saturday when they continue a series against the Washington Nationals. Herrera returned from the injured list on Friday and went 1-for-4 with two RBI. However, he will get the day off, which will open a spot in the lineup for Pedro Pages to be behind the dish. Walker has started each of the previous three contests but has tallied just one hit and held a 5:2 K:BB over this stretch. Instead, Lars Nootbaar will shift to right field, which opens left field for Brendan Donovan. Fantasy managers should expect both Herrera and Walker to return to the lineup on Sunday. The Cardinals are worth targeting in DFS facing Nationals right-hander Trevor Williams, who has held a modest 5.86 ERA this season.

St. Louis Cardinals catcher Ivan Herrera (knee) was officially activated off the 10-day injured list prior to their contest on Friday against the Washington Nationals. Herrera has been on the injured list since early April with a knee bruise. This evening, Herrera will bat sixth and serve as the designated hitter. While he has been sidelined, the Cardinals have given most of the catching duties to Pedro Pages and Yohel Pozo. Herrera was enjoying an impressive start to the campaign as he posted a .381/.458/.1.048 slash line with four long balls across his first seven contests. Last summer, the 24-year-old appeared in a career-high 72 games and held a solid .301/.372/.428 slash line. Fantasy managers should expect the 24-year-old to operate as the clear No. 1 backstop for the foreseeable future. Given his offensive upside, he is worth a look in one-catcher leagues and a must-start option in two-catcher formats.