St Louis Cardinals Prospect Kyle Leahy Poised for MLB

The St. Louis Cardinals are grinding through the early-to-mid stretch of the MLB season. Their May performance looks decent on paper, but if you dig a little deeper, the bullpen issues just keep bubbling up.

This post takes a look at where the Cardinals stand right now. There’s plenty of skepticism from the analytics crowd, and the team is still searching for answers in the bullpen—a problem that feels all too familiar.

Cardinals at the Quarter Mark: Early Excuses Wane, Roster Needs Take Center Stage

The Cardinals have hit the one-third point of the season, and honestly, the whole “it’s still early” line is wearing thin. They went 11-9 in May, which sounds okay, but the cracks in the roster are becoming hard to ignore.

At this stage, most teams know what they’re working with, for better or worse. The numbers don’t exactly inspire confidence about the Redbirds’ playoff hopes.

Projection Models Cast a Shadow of Doubt

Even with those May wins, the advanced metrics aren’t buying in. Fangraphs and other models put the Cardinals’ playoff odds at just 30%—barely ahead of the Reds.

Sure, they’re picking up wins, but the deeper stats and projections paint a picture that’s, well, far from rosy. There’s work to do, and everyone knows it.

The Ghost of Leahy Past: A Bullpen Blueprint Lost

If you’re trying to figure out what’s missing in the bullpen, you’ve got to look back at a season when one reliever really held things together. In 2025, Kyle Leahy was a revelation for the Cardinals, bridging the gap to Romero, Maton, and Helsley with a 3.07 ERA over 88 innings.

Leahy also put up a 3.04 FIP and racked up 1.4 fWAR. He ranked ninth in WPA+ among primary right-handed relievers who handled at least 70 innings. His knack for handling pressure situations was a huge boost for the team.

The Ripple Effect of the Rotation Experiment

This year, Leahy moved into the starting rotation. Maybe it made sense for the club, but it left a massive hole in the bullpen.

The Cardinals have tried several arms in that multi-inning relief spot, but nobody’s really stepped up. The team’s been missing that steady presence, and it’s cost them in close games.

Searching for Spark: Current Bullpen Options and the Rajcic Promise

The hunt for a reliable high-leverage reliever has felt like a never-ending shuffle. Matt Svanson was supposed to help, but it just hasn’t worked out so far.

Gordon Graceffo has had his moments, but he doesn’t bring the kind of strikeout punch you want from a modern bullpen weapon. The Cardinals clearly want someone who can rack up whiffs and slam the door on rallies.

Enter Max Rajcic: The Versatile Solution on the Horizon?

Maybe the answer’s been brewing in the minors all along. At Triple-A Memphis, Max Rajcic has quietly put together a strong 2026 as a reliever, after starting in the past.

He’s thrown nearly 30 innings with a nasty “sweeper” and a handful of other usable pitches. Rajcic is just 24, but he’s shown he can handle multiple roles and short bursts—kind of like Leahy did before.

The Cardinals could really use that kind of flexibility and effectiveness right now. Maybe Rajcic is the spark this bullpen needs.

Strategic Decisions and Future Flexibility

The Cardinals recently made some roster moves, optioning Svanson and recalling Ryan Fernandez. Fernandez seems to be finding his 2024 form again, which is honestly a relief for the club.

Meanwhile, Chris Roycroft has had a rough go since heading back to Memphis. His struggles just add more uncertainty to an already complicated bullpen picture.

The team now has to decide what to do with Roycroft’s 40-man roster spot, especially since his option years are almost up. In the middle of all this, Rajcic looks like a really appealing and flexible alternative.

They can move him between levels without worrying right away about losing him to waivers. That kind of flexibility feels like a steadying option right now.

 
Here is the source article for this story: The St. Louis Cardinals “Kyle Leahy” In Waiting