Cardinals Rising Star Made Gutsy Career Move That Could Prove To Be Monumental

St. Louis has an extra starter in its rotation

Aug 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras (40, right) visits the mound to talk with St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Andre Pallante (53) as he ties his shoelace in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images / Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals need to address the rotation again this offseason despite retooling the arsenal with three veteran hurlers last winter.

Ace Sonny Gray hadn't performed as well this year as in 2023 when he finished as the American League Cy Young runner-up. Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn have club options that haven't been picked up yet and Mile Mikolas isn't worth the money he is owed next season.

Fortunately, one thing regarding the rotation can be sure -- the Cardinals recently discovered they have a young and controllable starter on their hands.

"What he (Andre Pallante) had was an idea, and in phone conversations with manager Oliver Marmol and pitching coach Dusty Blake he presented it," St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold wrote Tuesday. "If he could develop a second fastball and refine other pitches – things to attack right-handed batters – he could help them as a pitcher. If he was going to do that they could help him by putting him in the Class AAA rotation. He wanted the five-day schedule and the innings to workshop pitches."

Pallante was demoted to Triple-A Memphis in April after logging an 0-1 record with a 5.14 ERA, 3-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .344 batting average against and a 2.14 WHIP in seven innings pitched as a reliever to begin the season with the Cardinals.

After spending some much-needed time in the minors adjusting his pitch arsenal, Pallante returned to St. Louis as a spot starter and that has been his role since.

The 25-year-old has improved his 2024 stats to a 7-8 record with a 3.87 ERA, 86-to-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .245 batting average against and a 1.35 WHIP in 109 1/3 innings pitched for St. Louis.

It would be huge for the Cardinals to have a quality starter with years of controllability left. Pallante exceeded expectations this season and it'll be interesting to see how much he can improve his game this offseason to prepare for 2025.

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