Ryan Loutos

Ryan William Loutos

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 240 lb.
• School Washington University in St. Louis
• High School Barrington (IL) High School
• Debut June 9, 2024

• Born January 29, 1999 in Elk Grove Village, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Ryan Loutos was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on July 22, 2021, after being passed over during the 20 rounds of that year's draft. He was coming out of Washington University in St. Louis, an institution better known for its academics than for its sports teams. The following winter, the computer science graduate made a first significant contribution to his team by helping them design "Chirp", the application that allows Cardinals pitchers to view video of their performances, deep-dive data from outings and pitch-by-pitch breakdowns. He of course became the go-to guy when teammates needed help using the app over the next few seasons.

While he obviously already had a future in analytics, he was also a prospect, and his standing in the organizational pecking order improved significantly when he added 5 mph to his fastball taking it from 92 to 97. He had been a starter in college, but was almost exclusively used in relief after signing with the Cards. In 2022, he went 3-6, 3.96 with 9 saves in 46 games between three levels, making it to AAA barely a year after having been signed. In 2023, he was hit hard between AA and AAA, putting up an ERA of 13.50 in 2 games for the Springfield Cardinals of the Texas League and 6.40 in 48 games for the Memphis Redbirds of the AAA International League. It was not all bad, as he did strike out 94 batters in 73 innings, but he needed to cut down the number of runners on base (98 via hits and another 41 via walks) in order to advance further.

In 2024, he went major league spring training as a non-roster invitee. He started the season pitching much better with Memphis, as his ERA was just 1.72 after 11 outings, and he had already recorded a win and four saves, with 18 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings. On May 20th, he was called up to St. Louis for the first time. However, it took him ten days to make his big league debut, which came in the 8th inning of a 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1st; he gave up a walk and a hit but no runs.

Further Reading

• John Denton: "From 'tech guy' to big leaguer: Loutos called up by Cardinals", mlb.com, May 20, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Ryan Loutos on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Washington University bio