The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle, Ray Mileur

A New and Improved Kyle Leahy?

Jun 30, 2026·By Ray Mileur

A New and Improved Kyle Leahy?
The Cardinal Chronicle
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Kyle Leahy is starting to get interesting.

For most of the season, the discussion around Leahy has centered on whether he could truly hold up as a full-time starter. That was always the question. Not whether he had enough arm strength to help a big-league pitching staff. Not whether he could show quality pitches. But whether he could maintain that effectiveness over a starter’s workload and still execute against major-league lineups.

Lately, the answer has been a lot more encouraging.

Leahy’s velocity has been trending upward since the start of the season, and over his last four starts, he has averaged 94.9 mph on his four-seam fastball. That is not simply a one-night radar-gun spike. That is a trend. And for a pitcher trying to bridge the gap between bullpen velocity and starter longevity, it matters.

The Cardinals have pointed to recent mechanical adjustments as one reason for the jump. The focus has been helping Leahy sustain his power deeper into games, and the early returns suggest those adjustments are taking hold.

Since June 17, Leahy has made three starts and worked 17.1 innings, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has allowed 12 hits, four earned runs and six walks while striking out 15. Just as important, he has not allowed a home run during that stretch.

That is where this starts to look like more than a small sample.

The velocity increase is one thing. Pairing it with better run prevention, improved execution and no home runs allowed gives the Cardinals something more meaningful to evaluate. Leahy is not only throwing harder. He is starting to look like a pitcher who knows how to use the added velocity.

That is the key.

When a starter can sit closer to 95 mph and still hold his stuff into the middle innings, the entire profile changes. Hitters have to respect the fastball differently. The margin for error grows a little. The secondary pitches get more breathing room. His curveball, in particular, benefits when the fastball is firm enough to create a more meaningful velocity separation.

Leahy has also shown the ability to reach back for more, recently striking out hitters with fastballs up to 96.2 mph. That kind of top-end life gives him a different look than the pitcher who was simply trying to survive a lineup two or three times.

Now, the Cardinals have to find out if this is real.

That does not mean Leahy has suddenly answered every question. Three starts do not make a finished product, and four starts of improved velocity do not automatically turn a pitcher into a long-term rotation fixture. Baseball has a way of humbling early conclusions.

But this is exactly the kind of development the Cardinals need to pay attention to.

Leahy entered the season trying to prove he could be more than a useful arm. He is now giving the organization a reason to view him differently. If the mechanical adjustments continue to help him sustain velocity, and if the improved fastball continues to support the rest of his arsenal, there may be something worth pursuing.

For a Cardinals club still sorting through its rotation picture, that matters.

Leahy may not be the loudest name in the organization’s pitching plans, but his recent stretch deserves a closer look. The stuff is firmer. The results are better. The home runs have disappeared. And the fastball is playing with more authority.