Cardinals May Have Something Real in Dustin May After All

The St. Louis Cardinals righty has been on a roll lately for the organization.

Apr 15, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians during the fourth inning at Busch Stadium. Players and coaches are wearing number 42 in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

It certainly looks like things are turning around for St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher, Dustin May, in real time.

May struggled to open the 2026 season for St. Louis, despite a very solid Spring Training. May allowed six earned runs across four innings in his first outing of the season on March 29. On April 4, he struggled again as he allowed seven earned runs against the Detroit Tigers.

It seems as though all he needed was to face off against one of his old teams to really get back on track. May's third start of the season came on April 10 against the Boston Red Sox, which is where he spent the second half of the 2025 season after being traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struggled in Boston and got some revenge while allowing just one earned run across six innings of work, while striking out four. On April 15, he followed up with another one-run effort across six innings while facing the Cleveland Guardians.

May made his fifth start of the season on Tuesday and it was equally as good. The 6'6'' righty struck out five batters and allowed just one run across 5 1/3 innings pitched against the Miami Marlins.

The Cardinals Flamethrower Is On A Heater

Apr 21, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) throws against the Miami during the first inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

When the Cardinals signed May this past offseason, this is the exact type of production they likely envisioned. In his last three starts, May has a 1.56 ERA and a 13-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17 1/3 innings pitched. He still boasts one of the best fastballs in baseball and is in the 84th percentile in fastball velocity. He's also in the 90th percentile in walk rate and 81st percentile in extension.

When healthy, this is the type of pitcher May is. He has good command of the zone, a very good fastball, a solid curveball and with his height being 6'6'', he's a big presence on the mound. It plays up his extension.

It's still just April, but these last three starts have looked much more like the guy we saw in Spring Training, than the guy from his first two starts of the campaign. In Spring Training, he made three appearances and had a 1.54 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work. After a brief hiatus to kick off the season, May has looked even better than that over his last three starts.

If this performance is here to stay, the Cardinals are going to win a lot of games with May, Michael McGreevy, and Matthew Liberatore at the top of the rotation.