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Arch Awards: Who Was the Rising Star of St. Louis Sports in 2016?

By Patrick Karraker

Oct 2, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz (36) throws on the run to force out Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Pedro Florimon (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 10-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz (36) throws on the run to force out Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Pedro Florimon (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 10-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Alex Reyes St. Louis Cardinals
Sep 29, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Alex Reyes (61) celebrates after getting the final out of the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Alex Reyes, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals

When Alex Reyes joined the St. Louis Cardinals on August 9, there was an unbelievable amount of excitement, but at the same time there was a fair degree of skepticism. Reyes, the organization’s top prospect and arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball, had missed the early portion of the season while serving a marijuana suspension, then returned to post a 4.96 ERA and 1.45 WHIP while averaging just 4 2/3 innings per outing over 14 starts at Triple-A Memphis. There were concerns that Reyes’s stamina and control were not developed to the point where he’d be able to thrive at the major-league level, but the Cardinals needed bullpen help and couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Reyes quickly quieted any doubts about his ability to take advantage of his potential, as he rattled off five scoreless relief appearances over a span of two weeks to start his career, highlighted by a masterful three-inning long relief appearance against the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs in which he gave up just one hit and earned his first career win.

When Mike Leake went on the DL with an injury on August 27, Reyes entered the Cardinals’ rotation, and though he began to encounter some command issues, he was very effective overall. Between five starts and two more long relief appearances, Reyes had some games where he was “off the mark” a bit, so to speak, but he never had an outing that could truly be described as bad.

Reyes evoked memories of Justin Verlander in his prime by working in the high nineties and hundreds with his fastball, averaging 96.8 MPH with his four-seamer and 96.2 MPH with his two-seamer according to FanGraphs Pitch f/x. He finished his inaugural major-league campaign with a 1.57 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .201 opponent batting average, 52 strikeouts and 23 walks in 46 innings.

While that’s a small sample size, it was enough to inspire plenty of confidence that Reyes can be an impactful starter for the Cardinals in 2017 and perhaps take the torch from Adam Wainwright as one of the team’s front-of-the-rotation arms.

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