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: Chris Roycroft
Stats: 1-2, 27 G, 34.1 IP, 31 H, 2 HR, 17 BB, 33 K, 4.19 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.398 WHIP, -0.1 bWAR
Statcast: 2.0% barrel, 25.7% sweet spot, 109.7 max exit velocity, .309 wOBA, .288 xwOBA, 21.3 K%, 11.0 BB%
Grade: B
Chris Roycroft wasn’t on anyone’s radar. I mean, sure, people like Kyle Reis and Blake Newberry knew about Roycroft but for the most part, he was just another guy in the Cardinals system, no big prospect or anything, just someone that could usually hold their own. He didn’t dominate spring by any means, only pitching two innings in the major league camp. Yet he did enough to at least provoke someone’s interest in the front office and, when Giovanny Gallegos went down in early May, Roycroft and his 1.38 ERA at Memphis got the call.
His time in the big leagues wasn’t a complete success story, of course, and with his full option status he rode the Memphis shuttle quite a bit throughout the season. However, he had 17 outings where he didn’t allow a run versus six where he allowed two or more. He didn’t give up a lot of solid contact, though the walk rate was high. He allowed five of his nine inherited runners to score. All in all, though, you didn’t panic when he got the call from the bullpen. He might not have been your first choice and you weren’t 100% sure what was going to happen, but he was solid enough not to induce immediate concern. For his first year in the bigs, that’s a success.
What’s in store for 2025: Most likely ’25 will look a lot like ’24 for Roycroft. He’ll probably give up a little more hard contact and he might not be quite as likely to go up and down, but he’ll see Memphis a few times I’m sure. He’ll fill a solid if unremarkable role in the bullpen, which is always something that is needed.
