Fantasy Baseball Year in Review – St. Louis Cardinals

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  • By Chris Houston

    Last Updated on October 16, 2025 6:14 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: October 16, 2025

    It was a season to forget in St. Louis, as the once-proud “Cardinal way” appeared to have lost its way. Finishing third in the NL Central with a 78-84 record, a full 19 games out of first, it is difficult to say where this Cardinals team goes from here. One thing’s for certain, however. If they are to bounce back in 2026, the Cards will need their young core to make significant strides in its development.

    Catcher

    Iván Herrera operated this season as more of a designated hitter, playing that position 89 times, but he did play some catcher, too, so I’m mentioning him here. Herrera is not a great backstop, by any means, but in the batter’s box, he shines, which is why he is far more relevant for fantasy purposes than is the Cards’ real-life catcher, the defensive-minded Pedro Pagés.

    Herrera slashed .284/.373/.464 in 2025, with 19 home runs, eight stolen bases, a .365 wOBA, 137 wRC+ and .180 ISO over 452 plate appearances, good enough to make him the eighth-place catcher on the Fangraphs Fantasy Player Rater. With 14 games played at catcher this year, the 25-year-old should retain eligibility at that position in 2026 as well, which is great for next year’s fantasy outlook.

    First base

    Willson Contreras was the Cardinals second best hitter this year, producing a .257/.344/.447 slash line, while accumulating 20 home runs, 70 runs scored, 80 RBI and five stolen bases, with a .344 wOBA, 124 wRC+ and .190 ISO in 563 plate appearances. A right shoulder injury ended his season early, in mid-September. The solid numbers resulted in Contreras being the 11th-ranked first baseman on the Fantasy Player Rater.

    The veteran’s catcher eligibility from last year carried over to this year, which was great, because the 33-year-old’s production played up even more so when managers deployed him in lineups as a catcher. To be precise, he finished the year as the number five fantasy backstop. Be aware, however, Contreras spent all of his time in 2025 at first base, so he will certainly lose catcher eligibility in 2026.

    Alec Burleson played a great deal of left field in 2025, logging 41 games there, but he spent 50 games at first base, so that is where I’m listing him for the purposes of this article. Burleson delivered his second solid season in a row, slashing .290/.343/.459 with 18 homers and five steals in 546 plate appearances, after producing a .269/.314/.420 slash line while swatting 21 dingers and swiping nine bags back in 2024. Additionally, the 26-year-old’s .346 wOBA, 124 wRC+ and .169 ISO were all respectively the highest of his young career. Hopefully, he can keep things going next year, if not improve upon those numbers.

    Second base

    Brendan Donovan had a typical Brendan Donovan season in 2025, slashing .287/.353/.422 with 10 homers and three steals in 515 plate appearances. His .337wOBA, 119 wRC+ and .135 ISO were also all in line with his career marks–solid, if unspectacular, underlying numbers which led to his ranking as the 23rd second baseman in fantasy.

    A large part of Donovan’s appeal in the fantasy space had been courtesy of his multi-position eligibility. Unfortunately for managers, however, the Cardinals have begun moving the versatile ballplayer around the diamond with less frequency as his career goes along, culminating this year with the 28-year-old spending almost all of his time at second, although he should still have enough games played (18) at left field to also qualify as an outfielder. Second base is a tough position in fantasy, so despite the decrease in positional eligibility, Donovan should retain enough fantasy relevance in 2026 to still be rostered in 12-team leagues.

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    October 16, 2025, 6:14 pm