Andre Pallante May Be Turning a Corner

The Cardinal Chronicle
Andre Pallante May Be Turning a Corner
St. Louis, MO — By Ray Mileur

There are seasons that define a player—and then there are seasons that test one.

For Andre Pallante, 2025 was the latter.

A 6–15 record and a 5.31 ERA told one version of the story, and for many fans, that was enough. The frustration was real, and over time it grew louder. By the end of the season, Pallante had dropped eight consecutive decisions, and patience had worn thin in St. Louis.

But numbers, taken alone, rarely tell the full story.

Pallante took the ball 31 times.

In today’s game, that matters.

He logged 165 innings—another number that shouldn’t be overlooked in an era where durability is no longer assumed. It wasn’t always clean, and it wasn’t always effective, but he showed up. Start after start. That’s a level of accountability that doesn’t always show up in the box score.

And it’s often the first thing forgotten.

There were signs within the struggle. Nine quality starts won’t carry a headline, but they do point to something underneath the surface—an ability to compete, even if consistency wasn’t there. The issue wasn’t whether Pallante could get through a lineup. It was whether he could do it often enough, and with enough variation, to avoid being predictable.

That’s where the conversation begins to shift.

Since 2022, Pallante has quietly produced the highest ground ball rate in Major League Baseball among pitchers with at least 400 innings pitched, sitting at 63.8 percent. That’s not a small sample. That’s a trait—and a valuable one.

Pitchers who keep the ball on the ground have a path. They always have.

What they need is support around that strength—enough pitch variation to keep hitters from sitting on a single look.

That appears to be the adjustment now taking shape.

Pallante has added a kick change to his mix, giving him another option to disrupt timing and avoid the situations that, by his own admission, had left him feeling predictable. Early returns don’t prove anything on their own, but they do point to intent—and to a pitcher working toward a solution, not simply repeating the same approach.

His most recent start against a Mets lineup built on star power and payroll didn’t come with margin for error. It required execution, adjustment, and composure. He gave the Cardinals all three, working into the sixth inning and putting the club in position to secure a 3–0 win.

It wasn’t dominance.

It was progress.

And sometimes, that’s the more important step.

The question now isn’t whether Pallante can deliver a single outing. It’s whether this version—more varied, less predictable, more confident—can hold over time.

Fans are quick to turn, especially after a difficult stretch. That’s part of the game. But respect should still have a place in the conversation.

Pallante earned the ball 31 times last season. He didn’t step away from it.

Now, with adjustments in place and a clearer path forward, he’s giving the Cardinals—and their fans—a reason to look again.

Not for what he was.

But for what he might still become.