“Manager Oli Marmol: Player Relies on Contact, But Struggles When Outs Don’t Follow”
In a recent interview, manager Oli Marmol revealed the struggles of one of his players who heavily relies on contact to secure outs. “He lives off contact, and when those don’t lead to outs…he’s left in a really tough position,” Marmol stated. This statement sheds light on the challenges faced by the player and the impact it has on the team. ’s not like I’m throwing it in the dirt. I’m throwing it over the plate, but it’s just not a strike. It’s not a competitive pitch.”
Andre Pallante Struggles to Find Consistency on the Mound for the St. Louis Cardinals
In 2024, Andre Pallante was a standout pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, with an impressive 8-8 record and a 3.78 ERA over 20 starts. He even had an ERA+ that was 10 percent better than the league average. However, in 2025, things have taken a turn for the worse as he currently holds a 6-12 record with a 5.44 ERA and a 77 ERA+, 23 percent below the league average.
Despite the similar overall numbers, Pallante’s performance has been a conundrum for the Cardinals. With limited options, the team is struggling to figure out the best course of action for the struggling pitcher.
After a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, manager Oli Marmol expressed the team’s dilemma, stating, “We have to take a look and figure out what’s best for him. Also take into consideration all the other variables of what we have below and what that would look like…There’s more moving parts to it, for sure.”
While some may see the two seasons as nearly identical, it all depends on the data set being used. According to publicly available metrics such as pitch velocity, spin, and release angle, Pallante’s repertoire has remained consistent. In fact, a metric called xFIP (expected fielding independent pitching) shows that his likely ERA is almost the same in both seasons, with a 3.89 in 2024 and a 3.98 in 2025.
However, the issue lies in Pallante’s high home run rate. While xFIP assumes that 10.5 percent of fly balls will become home runs, Pallante’s rate is nearly double that at 18.6 percent in 2025, compared to just 9.6 percent in 2024.
Digging deeper into the data, it becomes clear that Pallante’s struggles are due to his breaking ball. Despite generating more swings and misses, he is only landing 37.8 percent of his curveballs in the strike zone. This allows hitters to wait for his fastball and take better swings, instead of being forced to defend against a variety of pitches.
Pallante himself acknowledges this issue, stating, “That’s kind of the problem, right? It’s not like I’m throwing it in the dirt. I’m throwing it over the plate, but it’s just not a strike. It’s not a competitive pitch.”
In order for Pallante to regain his consistency on the mound, he will need to improve the accuracy of his breaking ball. Until then, the Cardinals will continue to struggle with the dilemma of how to best utilize their talented but struggling pitcher.
