GatewayRedbirds.com

I've heard the standard to start taking hot starts seriously has traditionally been Flag Day. I'll start with two players from our NL Central foes, Jeff Locke and Mike Leake who seem similar to me (Locke has half the BBs Leake does). Just like foreign languages, I'm more apt to comprehend people's feedback than I am to provide it myself. Feel free to add your own "Is he for real" candidates.

Jeff Locke

2013 League Ranks:
• 3rd in NL in BB (35)
• 7th in NL in ERA (2.39)
• 4th in NL in W% (.833)

2.39 ERA
1.21 WHIP
.640 OPS against
55 Ks, 35 BBs in 75.1 IP (K/9 and K/BB is actually less than it's been in small samples prior years when he struggled)

Mike Leake

2.76 ERA
1.24 WHIP
.692 OPS against
59 Ks, 18 BBs in 81.2 IP

I remember hearing a lot of talk when I was a young'un about the Cardinals and if they were going to have a good year or not with Flag Day as the time to get real. A search reveals that @planet planet also had heard this so I feel justified in bumping this unappreciated thread.

So Flag Day 2026...pitching looks meh. Offense is shaping up pretty well with the recent roster changes. Defense up the middle looks pretty strong.

What do we think people? Enjoying the ride while it lasts or waiting for the roof to cave in?

Never heard of Flag Day as an assessment date.

I’m enjoying the ride even if there is a crash coming. I don’t expect that to happen, especially if they work on bolstering the pitching.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

My FIL would talk about Flag Day as a barometer too

Our offense makes it worth watching.

The pitching drives me crazy.

I hadn’t thought I’d be here but given where they are, where the lineup seems to be (pretty damn good) and where the pitching is now and the near future (not nearly as good) I’d like to see them keep May and Romero and trade some of the minor league talent for starting pitching. And I don’t know that it would take that much for a couple upgrades. Looks like there might be a lot of it available.

Pitching is consistently inconsistent, especially the bullpen. It's better overall, but not enough swing and miss.

Line up is one solid addition from being a WS contender. Need things to pan out for a few AAA pitchers soon. Keeping and extending May might be worth it. He may not have ace stuff but has #1 stuff and seems to fit in well.

Ask me next Flag Day.

No pitcher outside of May is for real if you look at their data.

It's a poor staff. Not nearly close to competitive.

Mike Leake has not thrown a MLB pitch since before COVID, but is still only 38 years old. Somewhere a retired Mo is trying to figure out if he would sign a 1 year, $10MM contract with a team option.