Cardinals Sign 22-Year-Old Free Agent With 'Outlier Stuff'

During the Major League Baseball offseason, teams are always scoping out unexpected free-agent options, in the hopes that they might find themselves a hidden gem.

In particular, one offseason tweak or a bit of added velocity can make a world of difference for pitchers. Some pitchers who are released by affiliated ball teams or spend the year in independent ball can be signed as free agents if they impress in offseason workouts.

That was the basis of the St. Louis Cardinals' latest signing, who put up some particularly impressive numbers at a recent "pro day" showcase.

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Cardinals officially add Justin Militello to organization

According to the official Minor League Baseball transactions log, the Cardinals signed 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Militello to a minor-league contract on Friday. Militello was formerly an Atlanta Braves undrafted free-agent signing and spent two partial seasons in the Atlanta organization.

Militello was signed just days after his "pro day" for Coach K's Academy in Illinois, a training facility owned by Josh Kauten. The Michican native showcased what the academy promoted as "outlier stuff," which is fairly accurate judging by the numbers reported from the showcase.

‼️KsPro Day Athlete Justin Militello Signed by STL‼️@justinmili16 Came to throw in our 5th annual pro day and showed some outlier stuff with an avg velo of 95.1 and T95.9 While sporting a -2.7 avg VAA🤯🤯 (admittedly most FBs were up so semi zone dependent)

At just 22yo the… pic.twitter.com/DD2gZk1P06
— CoachKsAcademy (@CoachKsAcademy) February 6, 2026

Obviously, there are lots of major leaguers who can throw 96 mph in games, but doing so indoors typically translates to even more velocity against live game competition. And Militello seems to have potential for fairly elite induced vertical break, which usually translates to the ability to generate swings and misses on high heat.

In 27 appearances for the Braves' farm teams, Miltello pitched to an ERA of 8.56 across 74 2/3 innings. His 55 walks were an ugly outlier, so any hope he has of progressing through the Cardinals' organization rest on him fine-tuning his control a good amount.

After he was released by Low-A Augusta in August, Militello was clearly hard at work in preparation for his next affiliated ball opportunity. Will the Cardinals be glad they took a chance on him?

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