The St. Louis Cardinals recently parted ways with a unique figure in their organization, trading right-handed pitcher Ryan Loutos to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. Loutos, who briefly pitched for the Cardinals in 2024, also made a notable impact off the field. A computer science graduate from Washington University in St. Louis, he played a key role in developing the team’s “Chirp” app, which pitchers use to analyze their performances.
After going undrafted, Loutos signed with the Cardinals in 2021 and worked his way through the minors, where he compiled a 4.82 ERA across 220.1 innings. During his short stint in the majors, he threw 2.1 scoreless innings over three appearances. He was designated for assignment following a roster shuffle that saw Jose Barrero promoted and Thomas Saggese demoted. Loutos had shown signs of improvement in 2024, tossing seven scoreless innings in Triple-A before the trade. His only runs allowed that season came in his first outing.
Loutos became a standout not just for his performance on the mound, but for his tech skills. He was known in the Cardinals’ minor league system as the go-to guy for anything related to the Chirp app and may have contributed to overhauling the team’s pitching development approach—a system that has recently seen success with the emergence of Matthew Liberatore.
Using his own app to refine his fastball, sweeper, and curveball, Loutos increased his fastball velocity slightly to 94.6 mph this season. The Cardinals will be hoping this trade doesn’t come back to haunt them, as with past departures like Adolis García. Still, the Dodgers, renowned for their ability to develop talent, may prove to be the ideal destination for the 26-year-old with a promising future both on the mound and potentially in tech.
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