The Cardinals knew Ryan Fernandez had an opportunity to be an impactful reliever when they drafted the former Red Sox minor leaguer in the Rule 5 Draft in December.
But it took rediscovering that talent for the 26-year-old right-hander to emerge as a bullpen arm the Cardinals could count upon in high-leverage situations.
“I realized I needed a little bit more of a twist in my lower half,” Fernandez said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch on Saturday. “I was kind of staying too linear, and that’s helped me rotate my lower half, which in turn has helped me rotate my upper half. But I think that twist has helped me timing wise, more than anything, getting down the mound, planting and turning everything.”
The renewed approach, crafted and refined through spring training and the early portion of the season, helped Fernandez rediscover what worked well for him early in his minor league career.
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Selected in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB draft, Fernandez pitched to a 2.39 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 52⅔ innings between Class Low-A and High-A in 2021. He then posted a 12.71 strikeout per nine innings rate in 2022, splitting time at Class High-A and AA before struggling at the Triple-A level late last season with a 6.16 ERA in 30⅔ innings.
At the center of that up-and-down performance was the execution of his fastball, a pitch that intrigued the Cardinals when they selected him.
“What his fastball does whenever mechanically he gets behind it the right way (is what stood out to us),” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said prior to Saturday’s game. “It’s got a pretty good ride, and the combination of that with the cutter (and) slider, is a tough at-bat. So, reconnecting with that was a big part of it.”
Fernandez said the process of elevating the effectiveness of his fastball started two seasons ago, but it wasn’t until spring training this season that the right-hander truly found a routine with the pitch and demonstrated an ability to stay consistent with it.
Cardinals pitching coach Dusty Blake worked with Fernandez through that reconnection process, spending a couple of weeks going through a trial-and-error process with Fernandez until the righty found a comfort level from which to build upon.
“When you know somebody who has done something before, then there’s a real leverage in being able to get back to that,” Blake said. “We spent some in different ways explaining how we need to the ball to rotate out of his hand and the way it was rotating at that moment. Then, here’s how you can help do that more. Finally, one day he found a posture and a slot that he (felt) was easy.”
The adjustment has paid dividends for the Cardinals, who have found a reliable bullpen arm who can bridge the gap between the starter and back end of the bullpen.
Since May 28, Fernandez ranks second among MLB relievers with a 0.54 ERA. He has yet to allow more than one earned run in an appearance since May 19 against the Red Sox, pitching to a 1.05 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 17 innings since. On the season, Fernandez owns an 0-2 record with a 2.21 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 36⅔ innings.
His fastball, averaging out at 95.2mph, continues to emerge as a dependable complement to his slider, which he throws 46.5% of the time.
“Honestly, I feel like I’ve stayed pretty competitive (and) aggressive toward these hitters,” Fernandez said. “I found a couple things in my mechanics lately that have been feeling really good, so (I’m) just sticking to that.”
Behind that mechanical approach and season-long success, Fernandez has become a go-to arm out of the bullpen for Marmol when in need of a stopper.
The hard-throwing righty found himself in another high-leverage situation Friday, taking the mound with two inherited runners and only one out in the sixth inning. He induced a flyout, hauled in on a sprint by left fielder Brendan Donovan, and capped the inning with a five-pitch strikeout of Will Benson to help the Cardinals preserve their 1-0 advantage.
Fernandez then followed the sixth-inning theatrics with a scoreless seven inning, in which he retired the side in order. The multi-inning effort marked the 13th time this season, and the sixth time in his past eight appearances, that he has pitched in more than one inning out of the bullpen.
“He’s a bulldog,” Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said prior to Saturday’s game. “He loves taking the ball, and what I love is his ability to slow the game down in big moments. He’s continuing to show exactly that. He doesn’t score. He embraces that leverage situation, and he’s pitched some big innings for us.”
Lars Nootbaar continues rehab assignment
On the road to recovery from an oblique strain that has sidelined him on the injured list since May 31, Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar began his rehab assignment with Class AA Springfield on Friday night.
Nootbaar, hitting in the two-hole, played five innings for the S-Cards in his first live game action since May 29. He started in right field and was hitless in three at-bats, striking out once and flying out twice.
As part of the rehab process, Nootbaar is scheduled to play seven innings in Springfield’s home matchup against Arkansas at 6:35 p.m. Saturday. Nootbaar told reporters earlier this week that he’d likely play in six rehab games before coming off the injured list.