Every year, or at least every year since 2012, we’ve taken some time after the season was over to look at the past 162 games through the lens of the players that played them (and the management that was in charge of them). Last year, the Exit Interview series spent less time digging into splits and finding numerical oddities and more time reflecting on the player and their season. It was a style that seemed to work so we’re going to bring it back again this year. The legendary cardinalsgifs is back to bring us excellent series art, so it’s all downhill after you see that!
Player: Ryan Fernandez
Stats: 1-6, 2 SV, 62 G, 66.2 IP, 58 H, 4 HR, 32 BB, 71 K, 3.51 ERA, 3.35 FIP, 1.350 WHIP, 1.0 bWAR
Statcast: 7.2% barrel, 35.6% sweet spot, 111.8 max exit velocity, .291 wOBA, .296 xwOBA, 24.9 K%, 11.2 BB%
Grade: A
It took seven games for Ryan Fernandez to make his major league debut in 2024. That included the opener, which the Cards lost by six runs. It seemed like there was no situation where they would trust the Rule 5 pick from Boston. By the end of the season, there wasn’t a situation they wouldn’t trust him in. He wound up pitching 91 high-leverage plate appearances, much more than his medium level stats. He wasn’t overwhelming in those 91 PA, but he limited the damage and more often than not got the job done. There were times when Hernandez was the most trusted reliever not named Ryan Helsley.
You could say there’s some concern given that his ERA for August was 9 and his mark for September was 4.22, which is a legitimate worry. However, September is skewed by his last outing, giving up four runs in Coors Field, and he had a 0.93 ERA before it. It seems like he hit a bit of a wall, which is not surprising given the situation, but was able to work through it and finish the season strong. I don’t know that you could ask for better results out of a Rule 5 pick. Sure beats Wilking Rodriguez.
What’s in store for 2025: Relievers are fluky and it is just as likely that he’ll blow up as it is that he’ll continue to build on the success that he showed this season. With the likely trade of Helsley, Fernandez looks to pick up even more high leverage opportunities and to be a reliable option late in games.
