One Overlooked Stat Screams Richard Fitts for Cardinals’ No. 5 Job

The St. Louis Cardinals went out and added a handful of starting pitchers to the organization this offseason, including Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins in separate trades with the Boston Red Sox.

One discussion in camp so far naturally has been about how the starting rotation will shake out. Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore and Dustin May are obvious options. Kyle Leahy seems like a somewhat safe option, although that isn't guaranteed. When thinking about the No. 5 starter, it's a bit more up in the air. Do the Cardinals roll with Andre Pallante, who made 51 starts for the club over the last two years? Or do they roll with someone like Fitts or Dobbins when he's fully ready to roll? It's a real question.

Richard Fitts should be the guy

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Richard Fitts (35) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Arguably, the answer should be Fitts. The Cardinals didn't acquire Fitts and Dobbins for no reason. Throughout the club's deals in the offseason, a lot of the guys that they brought in were prospects who won't be in the majors for a bit. That's not the case with Fitts and Dobbins. Both pitched in the majors with Boston in 2025. Fitts made 11 appearances, including 10 starts, and had a 5.00 ERA. It's important to note that he allowed four runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 appearances. Also, he only allowed four runs one time. So, he allowed three runs or fewer in nine of his 11 total appearances.

What makes him stand out is the electric stuff. Fitts was pumping 97 miles per hour in his spring debut for St. Louis across two scoreless innings.

Richard Fitts fired off 2 scoreless inning in his Cardinals debut!

I just cannot quit this guy. Fitts retained his drastic velocity gains from 2026 and flashed his deep arsenal -- all of which graded out well. He may not break camp, but I believe he still has mid-rotation upside pic.twitter.com/Pwksr1O3KS
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) February 25, 2026

That's not all. The Athletic's Eno Sarris pointed out that Fitts has an elite 130 Stuff+ rating so far in Spring Training.

"Some notable Stuff+ sightings so far this spring: Nick Lodolo 139, Richard Fitts 130, Ryan Weathers 121, MacKenzie Gore 116, Matthew Liberatore 114, Jose Soriano 109, Max Meyer 108, Jose Berrios 85, JP Sears 88, Kirby Yates 9 [and] Drew Rasmussen 92."

To put that into perspective, Gavin Collyer of the Texas Rangers led baseball in 2025 at 124. That would insinuate that his number will fall in a bigger sample size, but still. Fitts is electric. That's the type of stuff that can really improve the rotation quicker than initially expected after all of the turnover.