Predicting the St. Louis Cardinals' 2025 starting rotation

It's never too early to think about the future. In some cases, it's actually reassuring to gaze down the road and see what might occur. For the St. Louis Cardinals, ignoring the present and hoping for the future may actually be beneficial.

The Cardinals face an uphill battle for the postseason these final three weeks. They have to jump the Atlanta Braves and one of the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, or San Diego Padres to even make it to the playoffs. Once there, they'll draw a three-game matchup (likely on the road) against one of those teams or whichever division winner ends up with the third-best record -- probably their division rivals the Milwaukee Brewers.

Therefore, it isn't too early to look ahead to next season and see what the team might look like. With a good starting rotation, anything is possible for a team. Talented starters could go deep into games to give the bullpen some respite, and the team with a better collection of starters typically goes on to win a playoff series.

The Cardinals have forced themselves into a corner recently by signing aged veterans on one-year deals to just get by in a given season. They've also locked themselves into pricey contracts for players like Steven Matz and Miles Mikolas. These unfavorable deals will presumably limit the opportunities the front office has to improve upon this year's rotation.

With some wily moves and smooth dealing, the 2025 rotation could be vastly different than this year's collection of starters. I've broken down the rotation pieces into various categories including shoo-ins, probable candidates, players with an outside chance, and free agents.

Shoo-Ins - Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante

These players will absolutely be in the rotation next year due to their performances this year and the fact that they're under contract for 2025.

Sonny Gray leads this pack, as he was signed this past offseason to be the team's ace. He hasn't quite lived up to those standards, but he's been the team's most viable starter for most of the year. He has a 12-9 record to go along with a 3.84 ERA, 3.30 FIP, and a 29.9% K rate. His 12 quality starts aren't as high as one would like, but it's still a fine total. Gray's salary next year escalates to $25 million.

Erick Fedde was a part of the three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago White Sox. He was one of the best-starting pitchers in baseball prior to the trade deadline, but he's hit some speed bumps with St. Louis. Since coming to St. Louis, Fedde has made seven starts with an ERA of 4.30, a FIP of 5.09, and an ERA+ of 101. He's gone five innings in six of his seven starts with the Cardinals, but he's also allowed four or more runs in three of his seven starts. Fedde is under contract for $7.5 million next year.

Andre Pallante has been the biggest surprise all year for the Cardinals. After moving from the bullpen in the majors to a starting role at Memphis, Pallante was given a chance to take the fifth starter spot on May 29th, and he hasn't looked back. As a starter, Pallante has a 6-6 record with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.294 WHIP. Batters are slashing just .238/.315/.345 against him, and he's struck out 65 batters in 87.1 innings. Pallante has earned his spot in next year's rotation.