Scouting Reports For New Cardinal Pitchers: Ryan Fernandez, Nick Robertson, Victor Santos

Scouting Reports for the Cardinals’ newly acquired pitchers

Ryan Fernandez was selected in the Rule V Draft, while Nick Robertson and Victor Santos were acquired in trade.

Over the last couple of weeks, the Cardinals added some backend, right-handed bullpen help from the Red Sox; Ryan Fernandez was selected with the 6th pick in the Rule V Draft while Nick Robertson and Victor Santos were acquired for Tyler O’Neill. Here’s a quick rundown of that the Cardinals got.

Ryan Fernandez, RHP
06/11/1998
2018 – 23rd Rd, Boston Red Sox
Hillsborough CC (FL)

He’s not the biggest pitcher (6’0″ 170 lbs) with little projection left in his body. He throws from the 3/4 slot with a jerky, stiff delivery. He’s got a quick arm and solid mechanics. He throws 5 pitches:

• Fastball sits 95-97, tops out at 99. Unfortunately, he has fringe command and control. The ball has good movement; it can flattens at higher velocity, but has down zone sinking action. It’s a potential plus pitch if he can get his command and/or control in a more consistent place.
• His 90-93 cutter is legit. The pitch has a high spin rate which generates great movement. He misses bats with the pitch and is considered an out pitch. A plus level pitch.
• His 85-88 slider also high spin and good movement; it comes out of his hand looking like the cutter, just slower with more break. It’s considered an average pitch but plays up because of his cutter.
• An 80-84 curve with vertical break and quick down action. It’s inconsistent and he doesn’t throw much any more. A below average pitch that’s needs a lot of work.
• He also has an 83-85 changeup that flashes vertical drop. Like the curve, it’s inconsistent and he’s stopped throwing it. It could be average with refinement.

He’s a low leverage reliever right now, but could move into a late inning guy with improvement on his fastball control/command. At this point, he looks like a guy they could stash at the end of the bullpen. His floor is mop up guy; his ceiling is #5 starter. I expect him to be a 7th or 8th inning guy eventually.

As a Rule V guy, he’s got to stick on the 26-man roster all season, or he’ll have to be offered back to the Red Sox. The Sox left him exposed because he’s a little bit older for a minor league pitcher; it doesn’t mean there isn’t value there, but there are other guys they liked better in their organization.

Robertson and Santos were acquired for O’Neill over the weekend. The deal might look like a loss for the Cardinals, but if you look closer at the pitchers they got, it’s not as bad as it looks on the surface.

Nick Robertson, RHP
07/16/1998
2019 – 7th Rd, Los Angeles Dodgers
James Madison University

Robertson was traded from the Dodgers to Red Sox with Justin Hagenman for Enrique Hernandez and cash at the trade deadline in 2023.

Robertson is a good sized pitcher (6’6″, 265 lbs) who’s frame has maxed out. He’s said to have a “bulldog mentality”, which is used a lot for closers. He had Tommy John surgery in 2017, prior to being drafted. He made his MLB debut 6/7/23 for the Dodgers, pitching 18 innings of 6.04 ERA baseball; solid 10.48 K% in majors. Throws form a 3/4 slot and sets up as far as possible on the 1st base side of the pitching mound. He can hide the ball well until late in his throwing motion; it’s made him effective against righties, but lefties have hit him hard. He has 3 pitches:

• Fastball sits 94-96, tops out around 99. The pitch has some vertical drop and he misses bats with it. It’s a potential plus pitch due to speed/movement combo if he can get a little more drop to it; if it doesn’t improve, it’s still considered above-average.
• 87-89 changeup with good sink and fade. Struggled with command of the pitch at times and is currently inconsistent. The pitch is current considered above average; could be a plus pitch if he can command it better.
• His 84-86 slider, average pitch right now that he doesn’t throw much. It’s a nice to have with the 2 pitches that are above-averaged creeping to plus.

This was a solid pickup. If Robertson can get his fastball or change to the next level and learn to pitch to lefties, he’s looking like a potential closer down the line.

Victor Santos, RHP
7/12/2000
Not drafted, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2016

Santos was traded from the Phillies to the Red Sox for C.J. Chatham at the trade deadline in 2021; it was considered a win at the time for the Red Sox because they got an intriguing arm for a utility player.

Another bigger frame (6’1″, 220) that’s done filling out at this point. He throws from a 3/4 arm slot with a high effort delivery that is repeatable; these pitchers typically struggle with command, but Santos is the exception with great command. He’s also a quick worker on the mound, which keeps hitters off-balance. He missed 2023 with unreported arm injury, but he’s been well pitching in Dominican Winter League. He’s got 4 pitches:

• His sinker sits 90-92 and tops out at 93. Plus control and command of the pitch, but he doesn’t miss many bats with the pitch. A prime example of pitch to contact. Opposite of most pitchers and uses the pitch in support of his change and slider. It’s a borderline average pitch.
• 4-seam fastball sits 92-94, touching 95. Again, good control and command of the pitch. Doesn’t have velocity to get away with high pitch, so he doesn’t throw it much. It’s considered below-average.
• An 82-84 change that has been reported as a split-change. He throws it with deceptive arm speed. It tunnels his fastball and has good separation and late dive. It’s an above-average pitch because of the tunneling.
• 83-86 slider with 2-plane movement, meaning horizontal break with good drop; he does struggle to get the pitch to end in zone frequently. More of an average pitch now, but works well with the change.

He’s more of a swingman type pitcher in the long run; he lacks a good fastball to be starter or high leverage reliever when it’s all said and done. He does mix his pitches and get outs, so he’s got the potential to make the roster in the next year or so. He’s one of those high floor, low ceiling players the Cardinals really like; a new version of Jake Woodford.

Like most Cardinal fans, I was a little disappoint in the return for O’Neill; when you really look at what the Cardinals got and what O’Neill has turned into, it’s a fairly solid return. Plus they now have 3 pitchers that are low cost at the back of the roster, which allows them to spend a little more on more sure thing arms for the bullpen.