Ranking the 10 most important St. Louis Cardinals players for the 2025 season

8 - Andre Pallante (RHP)

Andre Pallante’s path to earning a rotation spot with the Cardinals has been full of twists and turns. After struggling as a reliever to begin the 2024 season, Pallante was sent down to Memphis, and by his request, he was stretched out as a starter once again.

After being recalled to St. Louis in late May, Pallante took a few starts to settle in, but once he did, he was the Cardinals' best starter for the rest of the season. Pallante posted a 3.25 ERA over his final 15 starts, leading all of baseball in groundball rate and barrel rate. Beneath the hood, Pallante has become one of the best pitchers in baseball at inducing weak contact, which should give the Cardinals a ton of confidence in his profile as a starter.

So what changed for Pallante? The addition of a “deathball” last offseason helped him add more swing and miss to his game while bringing back his sinker and using it almost exclusively against right-handers helped him neutralize the side of the plate that gave him the most trouble historically. 

If Pallante can build upon his success in 2025, he’ll build upon his case as the Cardinals’ best homegrown starter in the 2020s and help their rotation become more of a strength, or at least not a major weakness. 

7 - Sonny Gray (RHP)

After the Cardinals made pitching a priority following the 2023 season, Sonny Gray is the lone remnant of a winter of pitching acquisitions (Lynn, Gibson, and Gray), where he was the headliner. Once again, the Cardinals are counting on him to anchor a rotation of veterans and young arms alike.

Gray’s 2024 season was full of oddities. His home run rate nearly tripled from a year prior, where he finished second in American League Cy Young voting. But his strikeout rate of 11 per nine innings reached a career-high in a full season. The sizable gap between his 3.84 ERA and his 3.12 FIP also indicates he performed much worse than expected and was a victim of some bad luck.

If Gray stays healthy and his on-field numbers can regress closer toward his expected numbers, he should be one of the top starting pitchers in the National League. Moreover, his desire to remain in St. Louis this season despite the team exploring trade options is a testament to his leadership. His presence in the dugout and voice as a leader should steady the rotation as the Cardinals look to give more opportunities to their prospects.