Cardinals Roster Dark Horse Turns Heads With 7-Strikeout Outing

The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of intriguing, young pitching in the organization right now.

Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore are going to get the most buzz at the big league level. But they're not the only ones. The Cardinals brought in 26-year-old hurlers Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins this offseason in separate trades with the Boston Red Sox. The top of the Cardinals' farm system is now stacked with hurlers after an offseason full of trades as well, including No. 5 prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje and No. 9 prospect Brandon Clarke.

The Cardinals also drafted a flamethrower with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft in Liam Doyle, who is the team's No. 2 overall prospect and made the jump to Double-A shortly after being drafted. All of this is to say that there is a lot of young pitching talent in the organization. So much so that one guy who has seemingly been overlooked this spring has been 25-year-old flamethrower, Quinn Mathews.

The Cardinals have a ton of intriguing pitching

Feb 25, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a spring training game at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

There was a time in 2025 when he was the team's no. 2 prospect just behind JJ Wetherholt. He dealt with some injuries in 2025, but spent the majority of the season at Triple-A Memphis. Overall, he logged a 3.73 ERA in 24 total starts last season. He had a 3.93 ERA in 22 starts in Memphis. Mathews is another guy who is one step away from the big leagues, but hasn't really been talked about as an option for the No. 5 rotation spot, like Fitts, Dobbins, Andre Pallante and Kyle Leahy. He had the type of performance on Thursday, though, that makes you wonder.

Mathews pitched 2 2/3 innings and recorded seven of the eight outs by strikeout. Overall, he struck out seven of the 11 batters he faced against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

LHP Quinn Mathews was in the zone this afternoon, striking out seven of 11 batters faced over 2.2 IP, with 12 swing inducing strikes. pic.twitter.com/vInvhL1NPz
— Cardinals Player Development (@CardsPlayerDev) March 5, 2026

MLB analyst Thomas Nestico pointed out that Mathews' velocity appears to be back at pre-injury levels as well.

Quinn Matthews looks to be getting back on track after an injury ladened 2025 season. His fastball velocity is back up to his pre-injury levels and helped him register 7 K in just 2.2 IP today. The return of his command is the next aspect to follow for the southpaw pic.twitter.com/PrUrJJtMWC
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 5, 2026

The lefty is certainly someone to monitor. It would still be a bit of a surprise to see him in the Opening Day rotation with all of the hurlers in the mix. But with a big more action down at Triple-A fully healthy, he's someone to watch as a promotion candidate quickly in 2026.