One Man’s Trash: I Decree That Leahy May Be The Key

Hyperbole much, Son? I’ve been prone to dabble in the bole from time to time, but it’s fun to slap the knee, especially in the land of the free, don’t you agree?

Now, when I first saw the Grand Canyon, I immediately assumed the position on my hands and knees. Visiting Japan and experiencing the culture put me in a blissful state of glee. Hong Kong was like being an ant looking up at a forest of Sequoia trees.

Perusing the stats of Kyle Leahy was the complete opposite experience, akin to watching a marathon on the BBC. That said, he could be the key.

Leahy is 29 years old, 6’5″, 225 pounds, and throws from the right side. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 17th round of the 2018 draft.

Early in his minor league career, Leahy didn’t strike out many batters but didn’t issue walks as well. As he matured and rose through the system, the strikeout rate got above 20%, but the walk rate correspondingly got into the double digits. The FIP was in the 3-4 range early on, but exploded to the 5-6 range.

Leahy got to the majors in 2024, pitching 48.2 innings while posting a 12 K-BB% with a 3.56 FIP. The following season, the innings doubled to 88, the K-BB% went to 14.3% while the FIP was 3.04. Through 122.1 innings this season, the K-BB% is 14.7 while the FIP is 3.52. MEHly! Yawn.

Before you start throwing internet tomatoes at my internet head….”Are you a man of extraordinary magnitude?“……it’s been a tale of two halves for Leahy.

The BABIP column is the only one that could cause some trepidation, but the FIP column accounts for it. Everything else is B. U. T. Ful. The sample size isn’t small either. This is one of the few times when I’m glad I don’t get paid by the word or letter because a chart is worth probably 300 words in this case. But sometimes less is more. Simplicity is often the key.

Now, is Leahy great for fantasy and will win you your league? Probably not. He’s pitched at least six innings only six times this season and struck out more than six batters only five times. That said, he has thrown at least 90 pitches in four of the last six outings with a high of 102. He can be an important piece of the rotation to provide innings without crushing the ratios, especially since stable pitching is rare to find on the wire. Leahy next faces the Phillies in Philadelphia, and Rudy’s bot is not optimistic. If available, I’d scoop him and keep him on the bench. Confidence level is already pretty high, but if he conquers this matchup, then he could indeed be the key.