St. Louis Cardinals: John Brebbia’s stopper role becomes important in second half

The bullpen remains one of the largest concerns for the St. Louis Cardinals coming out of the All-Star break, but some newer faces provide some reason for optimism moving forward.

Less than two months removed from his St. Louis Cardinals Major League debut, John Brebbia is one of the team’s few active relief pitchers who has not yet worked in a save situation.

Instead, Brebbia has sustained more success and consistency than his fellow teammates in duties outside of closing. The 27-year-old has appeared in each of the bottom six innings at least once, and has not allowed more than two runs in any of these frames.

With a 1.89 ERA and 19 innings over 17 appearances on the season, Brebbia has quietly embraced a stopper role out of the bullpen, minimizing harm in situations where games could move out of reach. Late-season additions have embodied stopper quality well in recent runs, including Octavio Dotel and Josh Kinney en route to St. Louis’s past two World Series championships.

Eight of Brebbia’s first nine big-league appearances came in games that resulted in a Cardinals lost, entering in situations where the team was already trailing.

After falling victim to Scooter Gennett‘s final blast in his four-home-run performance, Brebbia has given the Cardinals a chance in just about every other game they have trailed with a 1.31 ERA over all other losses.

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But his ability to limit damage does not stop there, as the opposition has hit just .118 against him with RISP. This is quite an improvement from the .227 mark he held with Memphis last year, and it could lead to increased responsibilities similar to pitching the final inning in St. Louis’s 6-0 victory before the All-Star break.

Brebbia also adds a different dynamic than most pitchers in the Cardinals bullpen that has likely contributed to some of his success. With a fastball that averages around 94 mph and a slider that can reach up to 86 mph according to FanGraphs, he can change speeds more frequently than others who rely solely on strike command.

The Cardinals must be pleased with initial returns from their 2015 Rule-5 draft investments so far, as St. Louis could continue to press luck with Brebbia and fellow selection Matt Bowman in higher-leverage situations moving forward.

Perhaps the biggest question as the second half approaches is how does Brebbia perform with a Cardinals bullpen that could soon be improving in health and performance despite a lackluster first half?

Kevin Siegrist will be activated from the disabled list to join southpaw Brett Cecil out of the All-Star break, who has held opponents scoreless in 14 straight outings.

Seung-hwan Oh has also looked stronger in recent save opportunities and has seemed to regain confidence as closer. One could even argue that Trevor Rosenthal has been the team’s most valuable relief pitcher outside of a rough stretch from mid-June through early July.

The amount and timing of John Brebbia’s opportunities may not be clear the first few series out of All-Star break, but the trade deadline could offer some changes to the bullpen that could make his stopper presence even more valuable to St. Louis’s relief core.

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The St. Louis Cardinals open up the second half of the season with a ten-game road trip on Friday, where Brebbia and other bullpen members have a chance to improve on the bullpen’s first half inconsistencies. The road trip features games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs.