Baseball Woes: Fourth St. Louis Cardinals to Worry About
4 Players from the Cardinals Team Warrant Legitimate Concerns
Let's dive into the early-season troubles of the St. Louis Cardinals, as we've reached the 20-game mark of the 2025 season, skimming just 12% of the regular season games. While it's premature to make definite conclusions, we can certainly have meaningful discussions on where things are headed. Today, we're focusing on four Cardinals who've raised a few red flags. I'm not suggesting writing anyone off just yet, but we need to explore both their stats and the metrics hiding some concerning stories.
Players Under the Microscope
Here are four Cardinals whose performances have us scratching our heads:
Ryan Fernandez
By the time you read this, Ryan Fernandez might already be traveling to Memphis, working on the funk that's gripped him so far this season.
In nine appearances so far, Fernandez has allowed runs in half of those outings, accumulating nine earned runs in total. It's a far cry from his stellar 2024 performance, during which he was a significant factor in the Cardinals' impressive bullpen. However, his struggles are becoming increasingly apparent, and it's time we address them head-on.
Fernandez had a 2.08 ERA through 43.1 innings in the first half of 2024. Joined by Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge, and JoJo Romero, he formed a fearsome quartet crucial to St. Louis' late-game dominance. But during the second half, things took a turn for the worse, as Fernandez allowed 16 earned runs over 23.1 innings, resulting in a 6.17 ERA.
This season, Fernandez appears to be having more success with his fastball, which has been his bread and butter. However, he's having trouble with his slider—a pitch that was previously a game-changer. In 2024, hitters batted just .182 with a .295 slugging percentage against Fernandez's slider, while his fastball was hittable. Now, that slider is serving as a weakness, with opposing hitters mashing it for a .438 average and .688 slug.
A brief stint in Memphis, honing his slider in a lower-stress environment, might be just what Fernandez needs. It's critical to see him get back on track, as his current performances are hurting the team. The Cardinals are patient, but we'll have to wait and see how long they can hold their breath.
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- "Despite the trending struggles of Ryan Fernandez in the 2025 season, his impressive performance in the 2024 MLB season is worth revisiting, when he was a key player in the Cardinals' formidable bullpen, recording a 2.08 ERA in the first half."
- "In stark contrast to his 2024 form, Fernandez's current slider, once a game-changer, is alarmingly weak, with hitters averaging an impressive .438 against it, causing a .688 slugging percentage."
- "Based on the early-season performances, if Fernandez can manage to get his slider back on track during a potential stint in Memphis, he might help ease the St. Louis Cardinals during the highly competitive sports marathon ahead."
- "While the Cardinals' average season is still ahead of them, the troubling performances of Fernandez could affect their future success, given their current position in the MLB and the rebuilding phase context that the team is trying to navigate."
