May 5, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals closer
Ryan Helsley closed the door on the Mets in Sunday's 6-5 victory in Game 1 of their doubleheader, notching his fifth save of the season in the process. The righty did allow and hit and threw a wild pitch that made things interesting, but New York was unable to push across a run to tie the game. Helsley was the league leader in saves in 2024 with 49, along with a 2.04 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 21.1 percent K-BB%, but things haven't gone quite so well in 2025. The 30-year-old owns a 3.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and a 5.7 percent K-BB%. It's still early, but the Cardinals may not win as many games as they did last year, leaving fewer save chances, and with good-but-not-great numbers, it doesn't appear Helsley will be as strong a contributor for fantasy as he was last season. That being said, he's still in one of the better situations in the league as the unquestioned closer for his team, and hopefully he can improve his strikeout and walk ratios as the season progresses.
--Jarod Rupp - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
April 17, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher
Ryan Helsley held on to the Cardinals' 4-1 lead in their series finale win over the Astros on Wednesday to earn his third save of the season. He did issue a walk but stranded
Isaac Paredes at first base after retiring
Christian Walker and
Yainer Diaz to end the game. Helsley hasn't been completely clean with either a walk or a hit allowed in all but one of his seven games. However, he has only given up a run in one of those outings and converted three of his four save opportunities on the season. After getting back to .500 with their win on Wednesday, the Cardinals head to New York for a four-game set with the Mets starting on Thursday night.
--Zach Thompson - RotoBallerSource: ESPN.com
April 7, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals closer
Ryan Helsley had a blown save on Sunday in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. Helsley entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead and allowed two runs on one hit while walking four batters and striking out two. The Cardinals would eventually fall to the Red Sox 5-4 in the 10th inning. The four walks were unlike him, as he had an 8.6 percent walk rate in 2024, and these were the first free passes he has allowed in his four innings of work thus far in 2025. Look for Helsley and the Cardinals to get back on track as they start a series on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
--Nicho Roessler - RotoBallerSource: ESPN
March 28, 2025
St. Louis Cardinals right-handed pitcher
Ryan Helsley tossed a shutout inning en route to earning the save on Opening Day in their victory against the Minnesota Twins. Helsley struck out the first two batters he saw before allowing a two-out double to outfielder
Harrison Bader. However, Helsley returned to form and struck out
Matt Wallner to get the final out. Last season, Helsley was one of the most valuable relief pitchers in fantasy as he tallied 49 saves, the most in the National League. Across 66 1/3 innings, he posted a 2.04 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP. He tallied 79 punchouts but held a modest 8.6 percent walk rate. Helsley also generated an elite 3.7 percent barrel rate and a 36,1 percent whiff rate. Even though the Cardinals may not be competing for the NL Central title this season, Helsley should see every save opportunity in St. Louis and remains a must-start option in all formats.
--Andy Smith - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
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