The Cardinals have gotten far more than they could have asked for from Kyle Leahy this season, and now the next step is coming into focus: his workload is about to be managed much more carefully.
Leahy has been one of St. Louis’ best starters over the last two months, and by the numbers he’s been one of the better pitchers in baseball during that stretch.
Over his last 10 starts, he has posted a 1.38 ERA with a 52-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 52 1/3 innings. For a pitcher in his first season in the rotation at the big league level, that’s a serious breakout.
He had a rough start to the year, but he’s settled in nicely and now owns a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts.
The issue isn’t performance. It’s volume.
Leahy entered the season with a career high of 88 innings pitched in the majors. He’s already up to 122 1/3, which puts him nearly 40 innings beyond that mark with about five weeks left in the season.
That’s why a shift appears to be coming. On Thursday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Leahy’s innings are going to be “significantly curtailed,” though the Cardinals do not plan to shut him down entirely.
“One thing happening in the background: Kyle Leahy’s innings are about to be significantly curtailed, perhaps as soon as this weekend. At last check there were no plans to shut him down, but it may be piggybacks with [Quinn Mathews], may be a straight bullpen move,” Jones wrote.
That direction lines up with everything the Cardinals have in front of them. Leahy has already gone well past his previous workload in the majors, and Quinn Mathews has already made two appearances in the big leagues. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom also said Mathews is expected to be in the club’s “plans for the rest of this year.”
So the likely path is pretty clear: ease off Leahy, give Mathews more runway, and keep both arms in play for the stretch run.
The Cardinals have seen enough from Leahy to know what they have. They moved him into the rotation, he answered with impact stuff, and he’s shown he belongs there going forward beyond the 2026 season. Now the focus shifts to preserving him, while also giving Mathews a bigger chance to contribute.
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