8 Cardinals who are outperforming projections this year

JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge, and Ryan Helsley

Perhaps the strongest positional group on the team has been the relievers. Matthew Liberatore, when coming in late in games, has been a breath of fresh air, Ryan Fernandez has pitched quite well as a bridge reliever, and the back of the bullpen has been supreme.

I recently wrote about how the Cardinals' bullpen has been among the best in the league. Their three guys at the back end, JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge, and Ryan Helsley, have been among the best in the league. The Cardinals are tied for 3rd in total saves with 14 of them. The relief group has the 6th-best K rate, 7th-best FIP, 7th-best WHIP, and 7th-best fWAR total in all of baseball.

Each of these players has outpaced his projections at the beginning of the year. JoJo Romero (1.33 ERA), Ryan Helsley (1.42 ERA), and Andrew Kittredge (2.70 ERA) are all playing well above their projections. Helsley and Romero have each struck out nearly 30% of the batters they've faced. Romero and Kittredge have 14 and 12 holds, respectively, the 2nd and 3rd most in all of baseball.

The 3 relievers at the back of the bullpen for the St. Louis Cardinals have been key to the team's victories up to this point. In fact, before Monday night's game, Ryan Helsley had pitched in every one of the team's victories. Without the strong performances of JoJo Romero, Andrew Kittredge, and Ryan Helsley, the Cardinals would be much worse off. These three are all performing well above expectations.