Ryan Helsley regaining form is great news for St. Louis Cardinals

It’s encouraging news to hear that St. Louis Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley is regaining his form as flame thrower.

According to Belleville News-Democrat’s Jeff Jones, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryan Helsley posted a video to his Instagram story on Friday showing him throwing from the mound and hitting 97 on the radar.

This is wonderful news as Helsley’s season came to an end too soon in 2021. After throwing in 51 games, going 6-4 with one save in 47.1 innings. He threw 47 strikeouts but unfortunately threw seven wild pitches and 27 walks.

Helsley’s season ended with him landing on the injured list due to a stress reaction in his right elbow. He also had surgery on his knee. It’s good news that he’s now throwing from the mound and hitting 97 mph doing so.

Once the lockout between the owners and players union ends with a new collective bargaining agreement, Helsley can show the club what he’s got when he arrives in Spring Training Camp. If he keeps this up, Helsley will likely play a huge part in a bullpen that for now includes Alex Reyes, Jordan Hicks, Genesis Cabrera, Giovanny Gallegos, and T.J. McFarland.

Helsley mostly uses a four-seam fastball that averages 97.4 mph with an 11.8-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 81%. Helsley’s cutter pitch averages 88.2 mph with a 29.7-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 34%. He has a changeup that averages 87.4 mph with a 26.9-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 96%.

Helsley has a pretty outstanding offspeed pitch in his curveball that averages 79 mph with a 55.4-inch vertical drop and an active spin of 63%. If Helsley gains the form that has been anticipated from him, he could be an awesome weapon in later innings for the Cardinals. It could be really fun to watch him devastate hitters late in pivotal games.

It will be good to have a healthy, effective flamethrowing Ryan Helsley as an option from the pen.