Quinn Matthews Making Case For Cardinals' Rotation Spot Next Season

The St. Louis Cardinals have somehow found a way to be relevant and in the playoff race, sitting only a few games from the final wild-card playoff spot.

Despite selling at the trade deadline and facing plenty of injuries in the second half of the season, St. Louis has remained in the playoff race, most recently pulling off stunning upset wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cardinals have been dealing with a plethora of injuries since the All-Star break, losing some of their top players, including JJ Wetherholt, Blaze Jordan and Masyn Winn. St. Louis' pitching staff is also down a couple of key hurlers, with Andre Pallante on the injured list and Hunter Dobbins out for the rest of the season.

It's unfortunate that St. Louis has had such poor luck with injuries recently, but it has opened the door for some of the Cardinals' top prospects to make an impact down the stretch. Left-handed starting pitcher Quinn Matthews has had mixed results through four starts, posting a 5.03 ERA, but has allowed two or fewer runs in three of his starts.

Will Matthews make the most of his opportunity?

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Quinn Matthew — Aug 17, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Matthews (60) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Andre Pallante have likely secured their spots in the Cardinals' starting rotation next season, leaving a couple of spots still open. With Dobbins looking at a 12-month recovery process after surgery, Matthews should have a good shot at cracking the rotation.

"One of the nicer Cardinals moments of the last couple of weeks was when Crooks gave a postgame speech congratulating Quinn Mathews, his batterymate throughout multiple Minor League levels, on his first MLB win last Friday," MLB.com's Will Leitch wrote on Wednesday. "It was without question Mathews’ best performance as a big leaguer, striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings against the Pirates. It was a sign of what Mathews has been able to do in the Minors and why the Cardinals have such high hopes for their No. 8 prospect.

"It would seem that three pitchers have been secured spots in next year’s Cardinals rotation: Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and (probably) Andre Pallante. If Mathews keeps pitching like he did on Friday, it would be difficult to take a fourth away from him."

Matthews is one of the Cardinals' top prospects for a reason. The 25-year-old struggled heavily against the Philadelphia Phillies, but he's been solid in his other starts. With a little more than 20 games left in the season, Matthews will likely get a couple more chances to make his case for cracking the starting rotation.

Add us as a preferred source on Google