The Cardinals finished in the middle of the pack with a 4.04 earned-run average, which tied for 15th. Thanks largely to dominant closer Ryan Helsley, their strong bullpen led the majors with 56 saves.
Their starting rotation was durable, with three pitchers making 28 or more starts. Lance Lynn made 23 starts and Andre Pallante made 20 starts after winning the fifth starter job.
All in all this was an above average pitching staff, as the grades will reflect.
Ryan Helsley
While sticking mostly to a one-inning closing role, he proved capable of pitching in back-to-back games while maintaining his durability. That was a big step forward for his career. Helsley finished 7-4 with 49 saves while striking out 79 batters in 66 1/3 innings. He was a big reason why the Cardinals won 29 one-run games and squeezed out 83 victories overall despite getting outscored by 47 runs over the 162 games.
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Grade: A-plus
Michael McGreevy
He struggled early on at Triple-A Memphis, posting a 5.19 ERA in April and a 6.84 ERA in May. From June on McGreevy excelled, earning his first looks from the Cardinals. He went 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in three starts plus one relief appearance in the majors. That is a tiny sample size, it it鈥檚 encouraging. After arriving as the 18th overall pick in the 2021 draft, McGreevy made the adjustment from college pitching and proved that the organization is not utterly hapless at developing hurlers.
Grade: A
Andre Pallante
The Cardinals came into the season expecting to have internal options for a fill-in starter in case of injury. They did not expect that option to be Pallante, who got roughed up in relief (6.30 ERA in nine early appearances), then went down to Memphis to convert back to starting. Pallante returned to the majors and went 8-7 with a 3.56 ERA in 20 starts, thanks to a newfound sinker he could use against right-handed batters. 聽
Grade: A-minus
Sonny Gray
The Cardinals wooed him to become their staff ace with a three-year, $75 million free-agent contract. That move paid off OK as Gray finished 13-9 with a 3.84 ERA. He finished ninth among all pitchers with 203 strikeouts despite missing four starts due to injuries. On the other hand, he allowed a career-high 21 homers. Gray provided some length, working past six innings 10 times. He struggled to a 6.75 ERA in four July starts and posted a 4.50 ERA in six August starts. He finished strong with a 2.89 ERA in three September starts before shutting down with a sore arm.
Grade: B-plus
JoJo Romero
He finally ran out of arm toward the end of the season, but not before he appeared in 65 games. He held left-handed batters to a .181 batting average, but he rose above the lefty specialist classification in his set-up role. Romero went 7-3 with 30 holds, one save and a 3.36 ERA. He inherited 34 runners in his late-inning setup role and allowed just 10 to score.聽 On the downside, right-handed batters hit seven homers off him while posting a .796 OPS.
Grade: B-plus
Andrew Kittredge
His durability was astounding. In his first full season after Tommy John surgery, Kittredge pitched 74 times, going 5-5 with 37 holds, one save and a 2.80 ERA as a key setup man. It got dicey at times聽鈥 Kittredge allowed 14 of his 27 inherited runners to score聽鈥 but he worked out of trouble again and again. On the downside, Kittredge allowed 10 homers and baserunners went 11-for-11 in stolen bases against him. All in all, he offered strong value after arriving in a trade for outfielder Richie Palacios.
Grade: B-plus
Ryan Fernandez
The Cardinals found gold with this Rule 5 addition. His 1-6 record is unsightly, but he worked his way into higher leverage scenarios as the season progressed. Fernandez posted a 3.51 ERA with 12 holds, two saves and 71 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. His season ended a bad note during that ugly 10-8 loss in Colorado that inflated his season ERA, but on balance he was a positive surprise who gave manager Oliver Marmol another late-inning option.
Grade: B
Lance Lynn
His return to the STL went about as well as could be hoped for, aside from his late-season knee issue that landed him on the injured list. Lynn went 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts. He could have racked up more Ws with better hitting and fielding support. In his last two outings before going on the IL, Lynn allowed just one run on seven hits in 10 innings. In his two starts after returning to duty, he allowed two runs on nine hits in 11 innings. His final spins for the Cardinals were a lot prettier than, say, what Adam Wainwright did.
Grade: B
Erick Fedde
He pitched in some tough luck after arriving in his trade from the Chicago White Sox. After unleashing his sweeper to go 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA for the awful White Sox, he was just 2-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 10 starts with the Cardinals. Fedde finished well, though, going 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA in his last four starts. With another year on his contract at a team-friendly rate, he could assume a lead role in the rotation.
Grade: B
John King
He rose up from his depth reliever role and quietly became a lefty specialist for lower-leverage scenarios. King was 3-3 with nine holds and a 2.85 ERA in a career-high 56 outings. He struck out just 38 batters in 60 innings, but he had a 19/4 strikeouts-to-walks ratio against left-handed hitters. He coaxed eight double plays overall, but he also allowed 17 of 33 inherited runners to score.
Grade: B
Kyle Leahy
He rode the Memphis shuttle and got in 33 games in mostly low-leverage relief assignments, going 1-1 with a 4.07 ERA, one save and three holds. Just two of his 17 inherited runners scored. Leahy handled multiple-inning assignments while logging 48 2/3 frames. He demonstrated power-pitching potential while pumping fastballs with 73rd percentile velocity. All in all, he has exceeded expectations as a 17th-round draft pick from Colorado Mesa University.
Grade: B-minus
Chris Roycroft
This former small college basketball player also flashed his upside as a power reliever. He rode the Memphis shuttle and made 27 appearances in mostly low-leverage scenarios, going 1-2 with one hold and a 4.19 ERA. He struck out 33 batters in 34 1/3 innings while ranking in the 76th percentile in fastball velocity. Roycroft must polish his pitching mechanics and improve his fielding awareness to stick in the major league bullpen next year, but he has already defeated the odds after signing out of independent ball.
Grade: B-minus
Matthew Liberatore
After failing to grab the sixth starter job, this eternal prospect finally settled into his productive middle relief role for the rest of the season. Liberatore was 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA in six starts and 2-2 with seven holds and a 3.69 ERA in 54 relief appearances. He retired 23 of the 33 runners he inherited overall. He was predictably hard on left-handed hitters, given his nasty curveball, and he posted a 31/4 strikeouts-to-walks ratio against them. But Liberatore allowed nine homers and an .823 OPS against right-handed batters, so he is best used for matchups.
Grade: C-plus
Kyle Gibson
He proved to be as durable as the team hoped, making 30 starts and eating 169 2/3 innings. Gibson was a good cultural fit and a positive influence on young pitchers. He pitched well in stretches this season, but he allowed too many innings to get away from him. Gibson allowed 23 homers while finishing 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA. Opponents hit .251 with a .742 OPS against him. Those numbers are better than what Gibson posted a year ago in Baltimore, where he finished 15-9 thanks to better run support.
Grade: C-minus
Steven Matz
Once again he did not pitch well. And once again he could not stay healthy either. He has earned his place on the pantheon of bad Cardinals free-agent signings. He finished 1-2 with a 5.08 ERA in 12 games, including seven starts. He spent the bulk of the season trying to overcome a back injury. After coming off the IL, he improved his command with a 16/4 strikeouts-to-walks ratio and a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings.
Grade: D
Miles Mikolas
The good news: He was durable, answering the bell time and again to make all 32 starts. The bad news: He couldn鈥檛 miss bats. Mikolas finished 10-11 with a 5.35 ERA, which is not good value for a hurler earning roughly $18 million. He only walked 25 batters in 171 2/3 innings, but, again, he didn鈥檛 miss bats. Opponents hit .284 against him with a .796 OPS. He only stuck out 122 batters, so the ball was in play a lot. He is the poster child for why 鈥減itch to contact鈥 pitching has fallen out of favor.
Grade: D
Giovanny Gallegos
After five years of stressful high-leverage pitching in the STL, Gallegos finally ran out of arm strength. Lacking the fastball velocity or slider bite to put hitters away, he struggled to a 6.53 ERA in 21 appearances before the Cardinals sent him packing. He allowed six homers in just 20 2/3 innings. Gallegos did earn two victories, one save and two holds before his demise.
Grade: D