Cardinals Struck Gold With Early Gordon Graceffo Promotion

The St. Louis Cardinals reliever is breaking out for the organization in real time.

Apr 7, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Gordon Graceffo (44) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals dropped their second straight game on Friday night as they faced off against the Seattle Mariners.

St. Louis put up a fight against a very good pitcher in George Kirby, but wasn't able to get over the hump as the club fell, 3-2. Andre Pallante gave the club a chance to win. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed three earned runs against the Mariners. Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn both had multi-hit games as both went 2-for-4. Also, don't look now but Winn is on fire at the plate right now. Winn has a nine-game hitting streak and has gotten multiple hits in each of his last four games. Over the last nine games, Winn is slashing .400/.436/.629 with a 1.064 OPS along with a homer and 10 RBIs.

Despite the loss, another guy who deserves his flowers right now is reliever Gordon Graceffo. The 26-year-old didn't make the big league club out of Spring Training, but was quickly promoted. Graceffo got the call on March 31 when Matt Pushard was placed on the Injured List. Since then, he has made 10 appearances for St. Louis and has been simply lights-out.

This was the case on Friday as well. Graceffo got the final two innings of the night for St. Louis and didn't allow a base hit or run in 23 pitches. With another scoreless outing, Graceffo lowered his season ERA down to 0.66.

The Cardinals Hurler Is Breaking Out

Apr 1, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Gordon Graceffo (44) pitches against the New York Mets during the eleventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Graceffo has a 0.66 ERA and an 8-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 13 2/3 innings pitched on the season so far in total. In comparison, he had a 6.28 ERA in 26 appearances last season for St. Louis in the majors. Last season, Graceffo started the season off slowly in general. He had a 6.62 ERA across his first 10 appearances for the Cardinals in 2025.

So, right now we're seeing a guy seemingly find his footing in the majors right in front of our eyes in real time. That's the point of the 2026 season in general. The more young guys who take steps forward, the quicker this reset period will be.

We've talked a lot about guys like Winn, or Jordan Walker, or JJ Wetherholt. But it takes more than just a few guys to have a good team and turn things around. Graceffo is a perfect example. He's pitching so well right now that he's gone from missing the Opening Day roster to being integral to the club in a short time.