2024 Stats
W-L
7-4
ERA
2.04
WHIP
1.10
K
79
SV
49
2025 Projections
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Helsley entered 2024 with a tentative grasp on the closer role in St. Louis, but the hard-throwing righty led the majors with 49 saves, setting the Cardinals franchise record for a single season. Prior to the campaign, he had yet to achieve a 20-save season and had trouble staying healthy, but Helsley rewarded drafters who exhibited a higher risk tolerance. In fact, he did not miss any time, establishing new career-highs in games played (65) and innings pitched (66.1). Helsey's 89.1 percent team save share was the 2nd-highest mark among closers. The injury risk remains for someone who throws as hard as Helsley does - he averaged 99.6 mph on his fastball (5th among relievers) - but the 30-year-old still warrants a pick among the top-10 closers for 2025. Just keep in mind this is Helsley's final year of salary arbitration before he becomes a free-agent. If the Cardinals aren't competitive in 2025, he'll be a likely trade candidate. Read Past Outlooks
Move to rotation not considered
The Cardinals are not mulling a move to the rotation for Helsley, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
ANALYSIS
All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.
All 239 appearances for Helsley at the major-league level have come in relief, but he came up through the minors as a starting pitcher. While there has been some speculation the Cardinals might consider giving the 30-year-old another chance to start, it does not appear that is in the plans following Helsley's major-league-leading 49 saves in 2024. They will, however, reportedly entertain trade offers for Helsley, who is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
14
Last 10 Games
13
Last 5 Games
11
How many pitches does Ryan Helsley generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Ryan Helsley generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-23%
BAA vs RHP
2024
-15%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022vs Left | .197 | 91 | 26 | 51 | 5 | |||
| Since 2022vs Right | .152 | 134 | 34 | 49 | 5 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .229 | 37 | 11 | 25 | 2 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .194 | 42 | 12 | 25 | 1 | |||
| 2023vs Left | .224 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 1 | |||
| 2023vs Right | .134 | 30 | 10 | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2022vs Left | .141 | 32 | 8 | 13 | 2 | |||
| 2022vs Right | .118 | 62 | 12 | 15 | 4 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-13%
ERA on Road
2024
-16%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022Home | 1.95 | 0.99 | 87.2 | 11.3 | 2.9 | ||||
| Since 2022Away | 1.69 | 0.91 | 80.0 | 12.9 | 3.6 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.19 | 1.08 | 37.0 | 9.7 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2024Away | 1.84 | 1.13 | 29.1 | 12.0 | 3.4 | ||||
| 2023Home | 2.63 | 1.32 | 13.2 | 11.9 | 2.6 | ||||
| 2023Away | 2.35 | 0.91 | 23.0 | 13.3 | 5.1 | ||||
| 2022Home | 1.46 | 0.78 | 37.0 | 12.6 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2022Away | 0.98 | 0.69 | 27.2 | 13.7 | 2.6 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Ryan Helsley compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.43K/9
10.7BB/9
3.1HR/9
0.4Fastball
99.6 mphERA
2.04WHIP
1.10BABIP
.303GB/FB
1.03Left On Base
78.5%Exit Velocity
84.2 mphBarrels/BBE
3.5%Spin Rate
2492 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
23.6%Swinging Strike
17.3%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2021
2020
2019
Sustaining the level of success he achieved during his breakout 2022 season was a longshot, but Helsley's follow-up campaign certainly fell short of expectations. Injury was mostly to blame as the hard-throwing righty missed two-and-a-half months with a right forearm strain. Injuries have been a constant for the 29-year-old, who has missed time during each of his five seasons to date. Prior to the forearm strain, Helsley split closing duties and struggled to a 1.26 WHIP. Upon returning from injury in September, the flamethrower ended the year on a high note, recording 7 of the Cardinals' final 8 saves while routinely hitting triple-digits on the radar gun - maxing out at 102.8 mph. Helsley posted a 0.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 19:6 K:BB ratio over his final 11.2 innings to remind fantasy managers of the upside he possesses. However, weighing that upside against the risks may prove too difficult for some, especially since Helsley has yet to post a 20-save season.
More Fantasy News
Sets franchise record
Helsley allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 6-3 win over the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Notches save No. 48
Helsley earned a save Wednesday, inducing a double play on the only pitch he threw against the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
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Collects save Sunday
Helsley threw a perfect inning and earned a save against Cleveland on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Strikes out side in 46th save
Helsley earned a save against the Guardians on Saturday, striking out all three batters he faced in a perfect ninth inning.
ANALYSIS
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Locks down 45th save
Helsley allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Might remain in St. Louis
The Cardinals could wind up hanging onto Helsley rather than trading him this offseason, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Helsley has been viewed as a likely trade candidate, as he's in his final year of arbitration and St. Louis plans to cut payroll. However, Rosenthal writes that teams that have discussed Helsley with the Cardinals have come away with the impression that he won't be traded, at least not yet. For what it's worth, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that while he's "open-minded" to trading the closer, the club's plan is "to have him be part of our organization." Helsley posted a 2.04 ERA and 79:23 K:BB over 66.1 innings in 2024 while setting a franchise record with 49 saves.
Helsley has been viewed as a likely trade candidate, as he's in his final year of arbitration and St. Louis plans to cut payroll. However, Rosenthal writes that teams that have discussed Helsley with the Cardinals have come away with the impression that he won't be traded, at least not yet. For what it's worth, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that while he's "open-minded" to trading the closer, the club's plan is "to have him be part of our organization." Helsley posted a 2.04 ERA and 79:23 K:BB over 66.1 innings in 2024 while setting a franchise record with 49 saves.