St. Louis Cardinals: Giving the 2019 roster their final letter grades

Carlos Martinez: A-

Many may gripe with this grade, but he earned it in 2019. After moving to the bullpen due to frustrating circumstances, Martinez was a weapon for Mike Shildt all year. When Jordan Hicks went down with his injury, Martinez was an elite-level closer down the stretch. He struggled in the playoffs, but overall a very solid year for the pitcher.

Andrew Miller: C-

After signing the best reliever on the market this offseason, the Cardinals and their fans had understandably high expectations for the lefty. Miller’s negative WAR and 97 ERA+ was not what the Cardinals expected in 2019 from him and so he doesn’t get a good grade. He appeared in the most games of any reliever and was dominant at times, but when he blew up, he blew up. All the team can hope is that he bounces back in 2020.

John Brebbia: B

John Brebbia was finally put into a bigger role in the bullpen after being on the Memphis shuttle for years. He responded to his 66 appearances with a 3.59 ERA and while he got burnt out at the end of the season from the usage, he proved he can be a reliable reliever in the future.

John Gant: B

John Gant is in the same boat as Brebbia. After not having any role, Gant turned a strong spring into a great season, especially in the first half. He didn’t have the same level of late-season resurgence Brebbia had, but still, both John’s of the bullpen proved to be reliable late-inning relievers.

Tyler Webb: B

Tyler Webb is the whipping boy of the team but after 2019, he shouldn’t be. Webb proved to be a sneaky good reliever, putting up a 3.76 ERA over 65 appearances and was 14% above average. As a waiver acquisition, there isn’t more you could ask from the guy and he has more than earned another shot with the team.

Giovanny Gallegos: A+

The breakout reliever of the year, Gallegos made the Luke Voit trade a wash, finishing with a higher bWAR than the slugging first baseman. Accumulating 2.2 WAR as a reliever, Gallegos’ 2.31 ERA over 66 appearances should earn him a more prominent role in the bullpen. He was the firefighter, the rally breaker, and the show stopper. Any time Shildt, needed a big out, Gallegos was his guy and the majority of the time, he came through.

Ryan Helsley: A-

Helsley finally got a taste of the Majors in 2019 and made the most of it. The rookie put up a sub-3.0 ERA over 24 appearances and slowly worked his way into a couple of higher leverage situations. His regular season performance led to a trip to the postseason with the team where he kept on performing, even on the biggest stage. I would love to see Helsley go back to starting in 2020 with his 100 mph fastball.

Dominic Leone: D

2019 was a year Leone wants to forget. Between injury and a 5.53 ERA over 40 appearances, Leone just wasn’t good and spent a lot of time in the Minors before being left off of the postseason roster. He is arbitration-eligible in 2020 so he will still be under contract, but don’t expect Leone to be a huge part of the team’s plans.

There were a couple of relievers left off of this list but there were so many, I figure you just want the article to be over at this point. Anyway, it was a great year in 2019 and while the hitters underperformed, the pitching (who are all being retained) picked up the slack which should get you excited about what’s in store for 2020.