Counting down the 20 most important Cardinals in 2023: #18 Andre Pallante

The 20 most important St. Louis Cardinals in 2023: #18 Andre Pallante

Each day leading up to Opening Day, our Redbird Rants team will be counting down the 20 most important St. Louis Cardinals for the 2023 season. The first two players on our countdown were #20 Juan Yepez and #19 Jordan Hicks, bringing us today to #18, Andre Pallante.

Pallante made the team out of camp in 2022 after being a non-roster invite and made his MLB debut on April 10th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I think very few people, if any, saw what was coming from Pallante during his rookie season.

Pallante was asked to play a majority of roles during the season, slotting into the rotation and becoming one of the club's most dependable arms when they needed it most, acting as a spot starter or longman, and by the end of the season, being relied on in crucial spots late in games. All in all, Pallante appeared in 47 games (10 starts), going 6-5 with a 3.17 ERA over 108 innings of work.

On top of being able to fill in for the Cardinals in a variety of different roles on their staff, Pallante also proved to be very effective against left-handed pitching, making him a rare right-handed specialist against left-handed hitters. For a club that is lacking multiple reliable lefties in their bullpen, being able to turn to Pallante on any given day was a huge win for the club.

So what makes Pallante so important to this Cardinals' club in 2023? Let's take a look at what role, or roles, he may play.