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10 St. Louis Cardinals studs and duds from May

By Josh Jacobs

Paul Goldschmidt #46 and Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals look on after the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Paul Goldschmidt #46 and Nolan Arenado #28 of the St. Louis Cardinals look on after the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 14, 2021 in New York City. The Cardinals defeated the Mets 7-6 in eleven innings. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals Ryan Helsley
ST LOUIS, MO – MAY 30: Ryan Helsley #56 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrate a 6-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium on May 30, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) /

Stud: Ryan Helsley

May Stats (12.1 IP): 2-0 W-L, 0.73 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 3 SV, 16 SO

Another arm who was not expected to be elite in 2022, Ryan Helsley has been one of the most unhittable pitchers in baseball in May, and has appeared to have taken on the closer role from Giovani Gallegos.

Helsley’s dominance would likely result in more than just 12.1 innings of work during a month for most clubs, but Marmol decided to be strategic in placing the right hander in high leverage, critical moments, rather than getting him into any game he can.

The elite thing about Helsley though is that almost every time his number has been called, he has shut down opponents. Gallegos’ numbers for the month have been just as good as Helsley’s, but something about his stuff right now has caught the eye of the Cardinals brass in a fresh way.

If Marmol continues to lean on Helsley, he has shown he is ready to be the shutdown closer than this team needed.

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