Fresh off a series win over the New York Mets, much of the clamor surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals will focus on the offense. The Cardinals’ bats fell silent once more in a 4-2 loss in 11 innings on Sunday afternoon — dropping the team to 13-15 — though the overall at-bats throughout the series were much improved.
What ultimately propelled the Cardinals to wins on Friday (4-2) and Saturday (7-4), however, wasn’t the offense showing a semblance of life, though that was certainly encouraging for St. Louis. The “Big 3” of back-end relievers — JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Helsley — have combined for a lights-out month. The trio has a 1.18 ERA this season with 46 strikeouts and just seven walks, good for a 6.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Restructuring the bullpen was a high priority over the winter for president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and manager Oli Marmol. Already, the early results underscore why. Let’s break down the numbers behind the excellent start for Romero, Kittredge and Helsley.
This bullpen locks it down again! 🔥#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/dHZkxwMCbR
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 27, 2024
LHP JoJo Romero — 14 G, 14 2/3 IP, 1.23 ERA, 16 K
Even before the Cardinals revamped their bullpen, they penciled Romero in for a high-leverage role. They did so based on a small but encouraging sample from last season. Before season-ending knee tendinitis, Romero seemed to have unlocked a new level within his four-pitch arsenal. The Cardinals recognized that and believed it would carry over to the new season.
Fast forward to the end of this season’s first month and it appears they were right. The 27-year-old has solidified himself as a back-end threat, and that arsenal has only improved. Romero ranks in the sport’s top-10 percentiles in whiff percentage (34.4 percent, 91st percentile) and ground-ball rate (61.8 percent, 95th percentile). But his walk rate (3.8, 90th percentile) has really jumped off the page.
Romero has cut down his free passes rate by nearly half compared to last season (6.8 percent). That’s due to not just a heavy mix of pitches (Romero regularly rotates between his sinker, slider and changeup, and will mix in his four-seam fastball) but also the result of an exceptional command.
RHP Andrew Kittredge — 13 G, 12 IP, 0.75 ERA, 13 K
Two traits Mozeliak sought when looking for external bullpen help this winter were experience and versatility, which is why he traded for Kittredge in early January. As an All-Star for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, Kittredge pitched in a multitude of roles and was comfortable entering the game at any time. He missed most of the last two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, but Kittredge looks to have regained his All-Star form.
Kittredge has packed some sorely needed swing and miss back into the ‘pen, with a chase rate of 44.2 percent (ranked in the top percentile) and a 28.9 strikeout percentage. He’s effectively used his slider (his best pitch) to induce some of the weakest contact in the league. Opposing hitters are on the ground over 50 percent of the time and not one has registered a barrel off of Kittredge this season. These metrics are nearly identical to his 2021 campaign.
Together, Romero and Kittredge have become two of baseball’s most effective set-up men. They share the major-league high of 10 holds and have made for a sturdy bridge to their closer.
RHP Ryan Helsley — 15 G, 15 IP, 1.80 ERA, 17 K
The Cardinals decided in tandem with Helsley to use him as a traditional closer this season instead of deploying him at the game’s most pivotal times (which is how Helsley had pitched for the last two seasons). Multiple factors played into that choice. The Cardinals wanted more availability out of Helsley, who often strayed from being used in back-to-back games because he was recording four to five outs per outing, instead of three. A noteworthy injury history also factored in. The two parties also believed that a set understanding of availability would allow Helsley to be used more effectively while giving his body ample opportunity to recover. The overall effectiveness of the bullpen (Cardinals relievers entered play Sunday with the third-lowest ERA in baseball) has also allowed Marmol to assign more specific roles.
The results have been about as good as they can get. Helsley’s nine saves are tied for the most in baseball and his Baseball Savant page reads like it’s straight out of a video game. Known as one of baseball’s hardest throwers, Helsley ranks among league leaders in expected ERA (1.11), expected batting average (.159), chase rate (35.6), walk rate (3.4) and of course fastball velocity (99.2 mph).
“That was romaine lettuce, that was crisp” 🥬#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/jg0UGEqu6A
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 27, 2024
Those numbers have transferred over to the win column. The Cardinals are 12-0 when entering the eighth inning with a lead, and much of that has to do with a fully healthy Helsley. By adjusting his usage and clarifying his role, St. Louis has seen the return of their All-Star closer, one who provides the exclamation point behind what could wind up as one of the best bullpens in the league.
(Photo of Andrew Kittredge: Jeff Curry / USA Today)