Sep 17, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of a St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Cardinals Pitcher Under Fire, Blamed For St. Louis' Disastrous Year

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Sep 28, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have finally ended their disappointing 2025 campaign. They fell short of the postseason after stumbling through most of the year.

Heading into the offseason, the Cardinals are likely going to be rebuilding, with some big moves coming. There's a chance they could swing a few big trades to dump some of their talented players in order to net some younger prospects.

J.T. Buchheit of Redbird Rants recently pushed some of the blame from the disappointing on starting pitcher Andre Pallante, who has struggled for a bulk of the year.

Andre Pallante blamed for Cardinals' disastrous season

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"Pallante's results in April were promising, as he owned a 4.05 ERA in his first five starts and held opponents to a .235 average, but he fell off soon after as hitters adjusted, scuffling to the tune of a 5.56 ERA and a .277 opposing average in his final 26 starts," Buchheit wrote. "No longer were hitters waiting out his knuckle-curve, which was the "death ball" that he had instituted prior to the season; hitters' chase rate on the pitch decreased from 33.5% in 2024 to 20.3% this year.

"The Cardinals were hoping Pallante could solidify the rotation by continuing to elicit copious numbers of ground balls, and while he still owned an exceptional 60.2% ground ball rate, his home run per fly ball rate climbed from 9.6% last year to 17.6% in 2025. Much of his arsenal and many of his metrics remained similar to 2024, but he was unable to replicate that success."

There are a lot of Cardinals to blame this year, but Pallante has been quite disappointing.

He was expected to be one of the better young starters in St. Louis, but he ended up being one of the weaker links on the team. If it wasn't for veteran Miles Mikolas, Pallante might have been the worst pitcher on the staff.

Going into 2026, Pallante is going to need to make some major improvements or else he could have his spot taken in the rotation. The Cardinals have a lot of talented prospects coming up their farm system, so Pallante could be on the hot seat in the coming months.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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