Kyle Leahy strong for six in no-decision

Leahy was 10-4 with a 3.24 ERA after his last fairly traditional start on Aug. 18. With his workload greatly curtailed since, he’s allowed 13 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings over six starts, leaving him 10-5 with a 3.66 ERA overall. The restrictions made sense, given that he spent the previous three years as a reliever. Of course, now they’ll probably be held against him as he enters super two arbitration eligibility (assuming the CBA doesn’t make changes there). Leahy showed enough this season to go into a 2027 as a fifth or sixth starting option in mixed leagues.

Leahy also issued three walks in the contest while recording only one strikeout. The Nationals got to him early and often in this one, scratching out three runs in the opening inning before piling on with four more including a two-run blast by Dylan Crews in the third. Leahy got just three swings and misses on 61 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of only 25 percent. He’ll try to finish the season strong as he carries a 3.65 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a 129/41 K/BB ratio (138 innings) into Thursday’s battle against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Leahy’s latest planned short start was his worst outing of the year, but not in a particularly discouraging way; he struck out six and walked none. The four non hard-hit balls against him all produced hits, with the last two of those setting up Mickey Moniak’s three-run homer in the third. Barring a change, he’s probably looking at throwing three or four innings against the White Sox on Saturday. He’s just not going to be interesting in fantasy leagues again until 2027.

Leahy was taken out after 51 pitches today. Last time out, it was four scoreless innings and 63 pitches. The Cardinals will probably keep this up for the most part, since Leahy did spend the last three years in the pen. It’s going to make him worthless in mixed leagues, though. His next start is due to come in Colorado.

Leahy and four Cardinals relievers had the team in line for a victory before closer Riley O’Brien imploded, allowing six runs in the ninth. The notable takeaway is that Leahy was pulled at 63 pitches, and St. Louis has made it clear his workload will be managed down the stretch. He’s up to 126 1/3 innings this season after throwing 88 in 2025, the vast majority out of the bullpen. St. Louis’ rotation recently suffered injuries to Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante, so it remains to be seen how the Cardinals handle Leahy going forward. His next start lines up at home against the Pirates.

The outings are getting shorter for Leahy, but it hasn’t stopped him from going 3-0 while pitching the bare minimum of 15 innings this month. He’s 5-0 since his last loss way back on June 17. He’s currently slated to face the Phillies on Sunday, but the Cardinals could consider adding a spot starter and pushing him back to Tuesday.

Leahy allowed just four hard-hit balls and walked none in another strong outing. It’s unclear just how many more innings he’ll be allowed to throw this year after spending the previous three seasons in the pen, but he’s been on a roll for nearly two months now, having gone 4-0 with a 1.52 ERA in his last nine starts. He’ll pitch in Cincinnati next week.

Leahy brought his swing-and-miss stuff to this one. Each of his changeup, curveball, slider and sweeper forced multiple whiffs as he wound up with 14 total swings-and-misses on the night. That was just two off his season-high and he’s been on a heater lately with a 1.49 ERA, 40 strikeouts, and nine walks over his last eight starts spanning 42 1/3 innings. Next up, he’s scheduled to face the Phillies at home.

A little run support would have been nice for Leahy, who has allowed just four earned runs in his last 18 innings of work but doesn’t have a win to speak of over that span. The righty did his part to hold the Jays in check, but exited after six innings with the game deadlocked at 1-1. The lone run he allowed came in the sixth inning after he allowed back-to-back doubles to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Kazuma Okamoto to start the frame, with Vladdy coming around to score on Okamoto’s double. He earned only one win in July, but fantasy managers won’t be mad at the 1.38 ERA and 0.88 WHIP leahy provided on the month. He’ll look to stay hot in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Yankees.

The runs came on homers from Elly De La Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes. It’s actually as many runs as Leahy had allowed in his last five starts combined. Leahy’s previous high for strikeouts was eight, which was also against the Reds back in May. He’ll pitch in Toronto next weekend.