6 Cardinals who should be regulars down the stretch

RHP Andre Pallante

Who would you say has been the Cardinals' best starter since the calendar flipped to June? Sonny Gray perhaps? Maybe even Kyle Gibson? The answer, in fact, is Andre Pallante.

Since May 29th, Andre Pallante's first start at the majors this year, he's led the team starting pitchers in ERA, he's second in FIP, second in fWAR, and he leads the staff in home runs per nine innings. Also, hitters are hitting just .232 against him, a figure that is greater than every other starter who has thrown more than 20 innings in that time span.

Andre Pallante has been the Cardinals' best-starting pitcher since June, and that's not hyperbolic. His most recent start against the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that smoked the Cardinals in the first series all season, featured him cruising through seven innings with five strikeouts and two walks. He gave up four hits and allowed only two runs against one of the best offenses in the league.

What has made Andre Pallante so effective is his ability to generate soft contact and groundballs. He's in the 80th percentile in average exit velocity, the 95th percentile in barrel rate, and the 98th percentile in groundball rate. Sure, Andre has been blessed with a strong defense behind him, but he's taking full advantage of it.

With Steven Matz and Lance Lynn set to return in the near future, space in the rotation will have to be cleared up soon. There's a chance Andre Pallante would be booted, but that should not be the case. Rather, Miles Mikolas should be taken out of the rotation, and Steven Matz should find a home as a long reliever, a role he thrived in late last year. Pallante could be playing himself into the 2025 rotation.