Cardinals quietly testing young arm and giving rotation much-needed relief this week

The St. Louis Cardinals have gone the wrong way in the standings after kicking off the 2026 season as one of the biggest surprises in the league. After sitting near the top of the NL Central for much of the season's first month, the Cardinals were just swept by the Seattle Mariners and have now lost back-to-back series. St. Louis now sits at 14-13 and is now tied with the Brewers for last in the division.

Over the past 10 games, Cardinals starters have averaged just over five innings and have been just fine over that span. The starting five has gone 4-3 with a 4.35 ERA but allowed over two homers per game and struck out less than a batter per inning. This struggle has created a lot of work for an already overworked bullpen, and that heavy workload has caught up to that inexperienced relief corps. In those games, they have had to cover 38.1 innings and have limped to a 5.17 ERA while allowing walks at an alarming rate. The entire staff needs a breather and the Cardinals are looking to give that during the upcoming series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Hunter Dobbins will be recalled for the series finale in Pittsburgh in a spot start

To give everyone a well-needed rest in the middle of this long stretch of 17 straight games, the Cardinals are calling up Hunter Dobbins to start Thursday against the Pirates. This comes at a great time, as Dobbins has been in Memphis since the start of the year rehabbing his torn ACL and his window to be activated was closing. Acquired from the Red Sox, the righty has pitched well enough in Memphis for his first work since early 2025. Over five starts, Dobbins has covered 22.2 innings and put up a 4.37 ERA and a 7.54 K/9. His walk rate is higher than it has been the past two seasons, but this could be attributed to him getting comfortable on the mound again after reconstructing his knee.

For Dobbins, the return to the bigs will be a nice checkpoint in his career, but it appears to be just a one-day thing. According to John Denton, this will not be a tryout for Dobbins to stay in the majors, but just an opportunity to break up the rotation's workload, and could end in him getting sent back to Memphis right after the game for another fresh arm. Regardless of his performance, it will be nice for the Cardinals to get a glimpse of one of their offseason acquisitions, but also a good opportunity for the fans to see someone who could make a difference in the future. With the current rotation struggling and likely to go through changes at some point this season, Dobbins could become a consistent piece of the starting five later in the summer.

Unless injury or extreme struggles pop up, we should get used to seeing the same starting five we have seen so far this season, with the occasional opportunity for a shake-up like Dobbins will bring on Thursday. What makes the expected quick demotion difficult, though, is that he will have to stay in the minor leagues for at least 15 days before he is eligible to be recalled. Injury provides a loophole to that rule, but someone simply pitching poorly will not allow Dobbins to be called back up. Either way, it will be fun to see someone different toe the rubber for the Cardinals.

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