# Cardinals By The Numbers: 05/19/2025

- Link: https://www.nyrdcast.com/cardinals-by-the-numbers-05-19-2025/
- Published: 2025-05-19T14:32:24-05:00
- Author: Eugene Tierney

### **Cardinals By The Numbers: 05/19/2025**

The [Cardinals](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals) picked up 2 more series this past
week, taking 2 of out 3 from both the Phillies and Royals. As opposed to the sweeps
the [previous week](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2025/05/cardinals-by-the-numbers-05-14-2025/)
again the Pirates and Nationals, these 2 teams are in the early playoff picture.

| **Wins** | **Losses** | **Pct** | 
| 26 | 21 | .553 |

[⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: Win Percentage⌉⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: Win Percentage⌉[

The team went 3-2 since the last column and added .005 to their winning percentage.
They also improved their road numbers:

|  | **Home** |  |  | **Road** |  | 
| **Wins** | **Losses** | **Pct** | **Wins** | **Losses** | **Pct** | 
| 15 | 6 | .714 | 11 | 15 | .423 |

No change to the home numbers, but adding .042 (3-2) to the winning percentage is
important. As a .500 road team, they’ll be in good playoff shape if they continue
to win at home.

Now the series as a whole:

| **Wins** | **Losses** | **Splits** | **Pct** | 
| 9 | 5 | 1 | .643 |

Taking 2 more series added .060 to their series winning percentage. Just a few weeks
ago, they were below .500 on winning series; it’s been a great few weeks.

Their win differential continues to support their success:

| **RS** | **RA** | **RD** | **pW** | **pL** | **pPct** | 
| 224 | 186 | +38 | 27 | 20 | .583 |

[⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: Run Differential⌉⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: Run Differential⌉[

[⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: Run Differential Per Game⌉⌊Cardinals By The Numbers:
Run Differential Per Game⌉[

They scored 27 runs (5.4 runs per game) and allowed 14 (2.8 per game) in the last
5 games; the run differential increased by +13. That increased their Pythagorean
Win total by 3 wins and 2 losses (increasing the pPct by .022); 27 wins put them
1 over where they currently are, but still within the standard deviation of 3. They
continue to underperform; it’s tied to losing close games and winning the blowouts.

|  | **RS/G** | **RA/G** | 
| Previous | 4.69 | 4.10 | 
| Last Week | 5.40 | 2.80 | 
| Season | 4.77 | 3.96 |

[⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: RS vs RA Per Game⌉⌊Cardinals By The Numbers: RS vs RA
Per Game⌉[

Those numbers are headed in the right direction; RS is up 0.08 and RA is down 0.14.

Below is the record for RS/G and RA/G:

| **RS** | **Total** | **W** | **L** | **Pct** | **RA** | **Total** | **W** | **L** | **Pct** | 
| 10+ | 5 | 5 (+2) | 0 | 1.000 | 10+ | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 
| 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 7 | 4 | 1 (+1) | 3 | .000 | 
| 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 
| 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 3 | 7 | 5 (+1) | 2 | .667 | 
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 (+1) | 1.000 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 (+1) | .667 | 
| 1 | 9 | 1 (+1) | 8 (+1) | .000 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 (+1) | 1.000 | 
| 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 6 (+1) | 0 | 1.000 |

As stated in the Pythagorean record, the team is getting a lot of runs. They had
2 games with 10 or more runs scored, then 3 games with 1-2 runs; they were 1-2 when
they scored on the lower side. They also picked up their first 1-run scored win.

Pitching-wise, they have been doing pretty well; only 1 game in the last five had
more than 3 runs. In the 4 games with 3 runs allowed or less, they were 2-2. They
have to back their pitchers up in those games; .500 is not acceptable.

Finally, run differential per game:

| **RD** | **Total** | 
| 10 or more | 1 | 
| 9 | 0 | 
| 8 | 1 | 
| 7 | 5 (+2) | 
| 6 | 2 | 
| 5 | 3 | 
| 4 | 1 | 
| 3 | 2 | 
| 2 | 4 | 
| 1 | 7 (+1) | 
| 0 | 0 | 
| -1 | 7 (+2) | 
| -2 | 3 | 
| -3 | 5 | 
| -4 | 2 | 
| -5 | 0 | 
| -6 | 2 | 
| -7 | 0 | 
| -8 | 1 | 
| -9 | 0 | 
| -10 or more | 1 |

Now, onto the players; first OPS+:

| Rank | Player | OPS+ Last | OPS+ Now | Change | 
| 1 | [Ivan Herrera](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=herrer004iva&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 273 | 269 | -4 | 
| 2 | [Thomas Saggese](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/saggeth01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 144 | 142 | -2 | 
| 3 | [Brendan Donovan](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/donovbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 131 | 138 | +7 | 
| 4 | [Yohel Pozo](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pozoyo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 130 | 133 | +3 | 
| 5 | [Lars Nootbaar](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nootbla01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 123 | 118 | -5 |

No change in the top 5; Lars is close to dropping below [Masyn Winn](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/winnma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br)(
116). Saggese changed due to the league changing; these numbers will fluctuate during
the season based on how the league is doing.

Here are the bottom 5:

| Rank | Player | OPS+ Last | OPS+ Now | Change | 
| 1 | [Jordan Walker](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkejo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 41 | 48 | +7 | 
| 2 | [Michael Siani](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sianimi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 56 | 55 | -1 | 
| 3 | [Nolan Gorman](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gormano01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 61 | 60 | -1 | 
| 4 | [Pedro Pages](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=pagespe02,pagespe01&search=Pedro+Pagés&utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 81 | 74 | -7 | 
| 5 | [Jose Barrero](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcijo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 85 | 84 | -1 |

Again, no change in the order. Walker is slowly trending in the right direction;
his solo home run won the game Friday night against Kansas City. Pages continues
to fall off; it’ll be interesting to see his usage going forward; both Pozo and 
Burleson are doing better than he is, so do they switch around catcher so Herrera
and Pozo are seeing more time while slotting Burleson in as the DH?

I’m adding ERA+ this week; like OPS+ for hitters, this measures a pitcher’s effectiveness
in comparison to the rest of the league. Over 100 is better than average; below 
is worse.

| Rank | Player | ERA+ | % Better Than League Average | 
| 1 | [Kyle Leahy](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leahyky01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 413 | 313% | 
| 2 | [Steven Matz](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/matzst01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 219 | 119% | 
| 3 | [Matt Svanson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/svansma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 161 | 61% | 
| 4 | [Ryan Helsley](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/helslry01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 150 | 50% | 
| 5 | [Matthew Liberatore](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/liberma01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 142 | 42% |

Leahy has been unreal this season, but it’s natural for him to regress; there is
no way he’s that much better than the rest of the league. I’m expecting some regression
for Matz as well, but he’s been killing the long relief/spot starter role; unfortunately,
his most value for the trade market comes from the rotation, so I’m curious to see
what happens with him at the deadline.

Here’s the bottom:

| Rank | Player | ERA+ | % Worse Than League Average | 
| 1 | [Ryan Fernandez](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/fernary01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 38 | 62% | 
| 2 | [Riley O’Brien](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/obrieri01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 46 | 54% | 
| 3 | [Roddery Munoz](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/munozro01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 58 | 42% | 
| 4 | [Gordon Graceffo](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gracego01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 75 | 25% | 
| 5 | [Chris Roycroft](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roycrch01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | 77 | 23% |

These are all fringe bullpen arms except Graceffo; they’ve been shuttled between
St. Louis and Memphis a few times. Graceffo is part of the future and he’s starting
to come into his own after a rough start to the season; he’s even gotten a recent
save. It’s a shame about Fernandez, because he was a key guy last season and looked
to be an important part of the bullpen going forward; at least Leahy has picked 
up the slack.

Finally, here’s the top 5 according to bWAR:

| Rank | Player | WAR Last | WAR Now | Change | 
| 1 | Brendan Donovan (+1) | 1.6 | 2.1 | +0.5 | 
| 2 | Lars Nootbaar (+1) | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 
| 3 | [Victor Scott II](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/scottvi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) (-2) | 1.7 | 1.4 | -0.3 | 
| 4 | Kyle Leahy (+1) | 1.1 | 1.2 | +0.1 | 
| 5 | Masyn Winn (NR)
Ivan Herrera (NR)[Nolan Arenado](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/arenano01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) (-1)Matthew Liberatore | 1.0Unknown1.3Unknown | 1.01.01.01.0 | 0.0Unknown-0.3Unknown |

I only kept the top 5 numbers form least week, although I did remember where Winn
was. Donovan had a killer 5 games to move him up half a win, while Scott slid down
2 spots. The bottom of the list is filling up as Winn and Herrera are heating up
and Liberatore (and most of the rotation) is starting to hit his stride.

The bottom 5:

| Rank | Player | WAR Last | WAR Now | Change | 
| 1 | Ryan Fernandez | -1.1 | -1.1 | 0.0 | 
| 2 | Jordan Walker | -0.5 | -0.5 | 0.0 | 
| 3 | Nolan Gorman
Gordon GraceffoChris RoycroftMichael Siani | -0.3-0.4-0.3Unknown | -0.3-0.3-0.3-0.3 | 0.0+0.10.0Unknown | 
| 4 | [John King](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kingjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br) | Unknown | -0.2 | Unknown |

The top of the list didn’t change, but we did have [JoJo Romero](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/romerjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&utm_source=www.nyrdcast.com&utm_campaign=2025-05-19_br)(-
0.1, down from -0.3) drop off it; he’s at least pitching better now. The bigger 
issue is the fact Walker and Gorman didn’t change, but it’s only over a span of 
5 games (one of which was a big game for Walker); I’d be curious to see the WPA (
win probability added) for their at bats.

I’ll be back next Monday to see how things change over the [next 6 games](https://www.nyrdcast.com/2025/05/2025-busch-stadium-homestand-highlights-5/).

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