Kyle Leahy's Development In Starting Role Begins To Pay Off With Consecutive Quality Starts

Kyle Leahy, for whom many fans have had their reservations about being in the starting rotation this year, has turned in consecutive outings going through 6 innings, both quality starts. He would go on to set a new career high with 6.1 IP in the game on Tuesday night. He pitched in the seventh inning for the first time in his career and posted his third quality start of the year, this one scoreless.

Manager Oliver Marmol has spoken about the process of getting Leahy better each outing and how important that is for the St. Louis Cardinals starter, as he is only in his first season as a starting pitcher.

Trusting the process has been a very important part of the Cardinals' success this season. With the team playing as well as they are, it can be easy to want them to pull the trigger and land the big fish to add to their rotation, but the Cardinals have been clear in their commitment to their youth and their development.

Leahy had a 2.81 ERA in May, and despite a June ERA of 6.00 heading into Tuesday’s game, his scoreless outing dropped that to a 4.22, and his season ERA dropped to 4.26. These last two outings could provide some confidence for the Cardinals' right-hander, who has been looking for length in his starts.

“I think that is one of the main things with starters to have pride in is pitching deep in the game and just leaving the game with your team in a good position to win,” Leahy said following his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Leahy should have that pride with him after his last two outings. He was able to take away how he controlled the game on Tuesday night, with his misses still setting up the next pitch and allowing him to execute when he needed to.

While the start of the year did not go the way that Leahy may have wanted, he has been able to dial back in during his last couple of starts, keeping the Cardinals in the ball game when he left it.

This is only year number one in the rotation for the Cardinals right-hander, and despite his team falling in his last three starts, Leahy has improved over them. The process may feel slow, especially since the team is in playoff contention in the middle of June, but the Cardinals have made it clear that they are committed to the plan with “no shortcuts,” as Marmol quoted President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom before the game on Tuesday.