Did The Cardinals Find Their Starter In Pallante?

The Reds would reluctantly approve the 25-year-old right-hander Andre Pallante as their starting pitcher, even if the St. Louis Cardinals have hesitated to completely commit to him as their long-term solution at No. 5 in their starting rotation.

Pallante's reputation has grown in the eyes of a Cardinals team, that on June 28, once again won under his leadership. He has matured into a more self-assured pitcher who challenges batters with his developing repertoire and is more accurate when facing right-handed hitters, who previously troubled him.

Pallante's Play

Oliver Marmol, the Cardinals manager, stated , "We've seen a little bit of an evolution from being timid to going out there and having some presence about him. This is a significant shift. You can observe that the approach and mindset are different."

Pallante pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings on Friday. The Cardinals defeated Cincinnati 1-0 in front of 40,220 fans at Busch Stadium. This season, right-handed hitters are batting .367 against Pallante, while lefties only hit .229 against him.

In the fifth inning, Pallante and Elly De La Cruz faced off in what was maybe the biggest matchup of the evening. Being aware of the splits against him, Pallante wisely walked Jonathan India and faced De La Cruz with the bases loaded.

Pallante pitched a 96.9 mph fastball that ran inside to De La Cruz, who tapped the ball to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

"I feel pretty confident against De La Cruz, and I feel like my fastball has been pretty good against him," Pallante stated. "I just got inside on him because I trusted it."

Pallante's History

In 2021, Pallante split time between the Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A) and Springfield Cardinals (Double-A). He played 23 games and started 22. On September 21, after making 21 starts in Springfield, he was promoted to Memphis.

Andre pitched 6.0 flawless innings of one-hit ball in a 9-0 victory over Arkansas to earn the title Double-A Central Player of the Week (August 9–August 15). After that, he appeared in seven games, four of which were starts, and finished with a 1-1 record, a 1.29 ERA, and 22 strikeouts in 21.0 innings pitched without giving up a home run.

In 2022, during Spring Training, Andre was a non-roster invitee. He made the Major League roster and was there for the entire season. He was a reliever in one inning to start his Major League career. Pallente's 18th appearance of the season, the second game of a doubleheader, would be his first Major League start.

From then on, he was third among National League rookies and fourth on the Cardinals' pitching staff in innings pitched. He became the first rookie for the Cardinals since 1977 to pitch 50 innings in both a relief and starting role in the same campaign. He's the first player to do this since 2010.

Andre was third among National League rookies in wins (6) and tenth in strikeouts (73). From August 26 to October 3, he pitched 35.0 innings without giving up a home run.

In 2023, Pallante led all Cardinals pitchers with 63 appearances, was third in the National League for inherited runners (43), and topped the Cardinals relief corps (minus nine relief appearances) with 68.0 innings pitched. He led the Cardinals relievers in groundball double plays (8), placing ninth in the league, and in 43 appearances, he gave up one hit or less, making him the second Cardinal of the season to do so.

With a 3.15 ERA, Andre was third among the Cardinals' relievers. Last but not least, he recorded a season-high 7.0-inning scoreless streak spanning five games from September 15 to September 28.

Pallante is a great pitcher for the Cardinals overall. Would it be ideal for the team to keep him as a starter rather than a reliever?

To follow along Andre Pallante's journey, visit MLB .