Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley named NL Reliever of the Month for 2nd time this season

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - MLB announced the players of the month for June, and Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley has earned his second NL Reliever of the Month of the season.

Helsley was magnificent in June, just like he has been for the entire season. Helsley pitched in 13 games in June and saved 12 of them, a ridiculous success rate by any measure. Overall, Helsley had a 2.26 ERA, with a NL-leading 21 strikeouts in the month and walking 10.

The honor will his second NL reliever of the month of 2024, with Helsley earning his first NL reliever of the Month in April.

Helsley has pitched a tremendous season for the Cardinals, with the Oklahoma-native leading the league in saves at 31, the only reliever in the entire MLB at the moment to have more than 25 saves.

At the pace Helsley is at, there is a good chance Helsley will surpass the single-season saves record (48) for the Cardinals, which was set by Trevor Rosenthal back in 2015 and become the first Cardinals closer since 2012 (Jason Motte) to lead the NL in saves.

There's also a chance Helsley could achieve a 60-save season, which has not been seen since 2008, with then-Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) last setting the feat, with 62.