Dustin May’s Cardinals debut brings intrigue and a different kind of bet initially appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The St. Louis Cardinals don’t often function like this.
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For years, their rotations have been constructed on reliability and management. Pitchers who might take the ball each fifth day and preserve video games regular. That strategy stored them aggressive, however it not often gave them a true distinction maker.
That is why Dustin May stands out.
His debut on Sunday is not only one other begin. It is a take a look at a shift in how the Cardinals need to construct their pitching workers. And it comes with one thing on the road immediately, with St. Louis attempting to finish a sweep of the Rays.
The expertise has at all times been there, the timing has not
The attraction with May is simple to see.
When he first broke in with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he seemed like one of probably the most electrical younger arms in baseball. He throws within the higher 90s, his motion is tough to sq. up, and his sweeper has been one of the hardest pitches within the recreation to hit.
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The drawback has by no means been expertise. It has been staying on the sphere.
Injuries have interrupted his profession a number of instances. He missed all of 2024 and has had stretches the place he merely couldn’t construct momentum. Even final season, when he cut up time with the Boston Red Sox and Dodgers, the outcomes have been combined. A 4.96 ERA reveals how inconsistent issues have been, even when the stuff nonetheless flashed.
The pitch that might change all the pieces
That is the place the Cardinals noticed a gap.
Their pitch to May was different. They didn’t simply speak about what he already does properly. They talked about what he might grow to be. A giant half of that was bringing again his curveball, a pitch he has not likely used since 2019. It is one thing different groups moved away from, however St. Louis wished to lean into it.
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They additionally made it clear that protecting him wholesome was a precedence. That mattered to a pitcher who has spent as a lot time rehabbing as he has competing over the previous few years.
More: Shea Langeliers off to scorching start despite A’s 0-2 record
Why this model of May may lastly stick
Now 28, May looks like he’s someplace in between. He is not a younger prospect, however he isn’t a completed product both. His velocity is again close to the place it was, and he seems stronger after coping with severe well being points, together with surgical procedure in 2024.
If the curveball turns into a actual weapon once more and his changeup continues to develop, his arsenal abruptly seems a lot deeper. That is the way you flip flashes into consistency.
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For the Cardinals, that upside is definitely worth the danger.
A debut with one thing actual on the road
This is a one-year deal, however it doesn’t really feel like a small transfer. It looks like a assertion. St. Louis is prepared to chase impression as an alternative of simply stability.
Sunday is the primary actual take a look at how that bet may play out.
And with a sweep on the desk in opposition to the Rays, it isn’t a quiet debut. It issues immediately.
