Cardinals Flamethrower Could Push for MLB Debut in 2026

There's a lot to like the St. Louis Cardinals' starting rotation options for 2026 and beyond.

With Spring Training right around the corner, the Cardinals have Dustin May, who signed with the club this organization, along with Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy as guaranteed options for the rotation. Beyond these three, the Cardinals have Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins, Andre Pallante and even Kyle Leahy as options.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

That's a lot of youth right there. Leahy and May are both 28 years old and they are the oldest in the group mentioned above. On top of these guys, the Cardinals also have a few elite prospects who could help this team in the not-so-distant future. The Cardinals have flamethrower Liam Doyle as the team's No. 2 prospect after being selected in the first round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft. No. 4 prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje is a switch-pitching flamethrower who just joined the organization. No. 6 prospect Quinn Mathews is on the doorstep of the big leagues as well.

The Cardinals have a bright future

Tennessee's Liam Doyle (12) throws the ball during a NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional game between Tennessee and Miami Ohio on May 30, 2025. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That's a lot of excitement and doesn't even include Brandon Clarke, Tekoah Roby and Yhoiker Fajardo, who are ranked as the team's Nos. 8-10 prospects.

The future is bright and it sounds like the fanbase may not have to wait long to see Doyle, at least. The Athletic's Keith Law shared an inside look at the flamethrower and noted that he could make the jump to the big leagues as soon as 2026 if all goes well.

"The No. 5 pick in the 2025 draft out of Tennessee, Doyle had the best fastball in the class, sitting 96-99 all spring and living up at the top of the zone with the pitch, missing bats over 40 percent of the time that hitters tried to offer at it," Law wrote. "He has four pitches, with a plus splitter, an average to above-average slider and a potentially plus cutter. He throws everything for strikes, working well to both sides of the plate and getting some added deception from his delivery. Some teams were concerned about his ability to repeat his delivery as a starter, which I didn’t share, and the biggest issue I could see about his ability to stay a starter is that he throws so hard all the time — several miles an hour above where he was the year before, while he was at Mississippi.

"He moves well on the mound and should be able to make some small adjustments to try to tighten up the slider and separate it more from the cutter, beyond which I don’t think he has much left to do before he would be ready to pitch in some role in the majors. He’ll probably start in Double A, but don’t be surprised if he debuts this year as long as he stays healthy, with at least No. 2 starter upside."

There is now so much young pitching in the system that if the club just hits on a few, they will be in a good position for a long time. Look at the Seattle Mariners, for example. That's a team that built a rotation full of cheap, homegrown talent. The Cardinals have at least given themselves a lot of chances.

More MLB: Two Cardinals Trade Deadline Candidates Already Emerge