5 surprises on St. Louis Cardinals 2022 Opening Day roster

Andre Pallante

Pallante was the Cardinals’ fourth-round pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft. The 23-year-old right-hander was a non-roster invitee this spring and obviously impressed.

During Spring Training, he threw in three games, finishing one with a save. In 13 batters faced, he gave up only one hit, one walk, and struck out four. After last season’s woes, that one walk is pretty epic. Pallante also appeared in the Arizona Fall League, appearing in seven games, starting four. He was 1-1, going 21 innings and striking out 22.

Pallante has had an impressive stretch since the fall of 2021. He was rewarded for that with this roster spot. He appears to be very effective so it will be interesting to see if he remains with the Cardinals after May 2.

Pallante definitely fits into Marmol’s plans for matchups. He’s had some time as a starter and worked mostly as a reliever this spring. We will most likely see him pitch an inning or two per outing but it wouldn’t be out of the question to see him do a piggy-back start if needed.

It should be an exciting month for Pallante.