The Cardinals Have an Under-the-Radar Pitcher Ready for St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals should promote the lefty prospect up to the big leagues.

Feb 27, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) delivers a pitch against the New York Mets during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals have a lot of talent down in Triple-A just waiting for the opportunity to make the jump to the big leagues.

St. Louis is fortunate to have one of the very best farm systems in baseball. When MLB.com released its new list of the top 100 prospects in baseball, St. Louis landed three on the list: catcher Rainiel Rodriguez (No. 13), pitcher Liam Doyle (No. 23) and Joshua Báez (No. 50).

The Cardinals' farm system is loaded, to say the least. But who should be an option for a promotion in the near future? Recently, Báez and reliever Luis Gastelum have been talked about left and right as options who should get promoted. Both are worthy and should get a shot in the not-so-distant future.

Beyond them, one under-the-radar option the Cardinals should consider promoting up to St. Louis is lefty Quinn Mathews. He's gotten some buzz recently, but not to the same level as Báez and Gastelum.

The Cardinals Should Promote Quinn Mathews In The Near Future

Feb 17, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Quinn Mathews (60). Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mathews has made 15 starts this season and has a 3.95 ERA in 66 innings pitched for Triple-A Memphis. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in a game since May 22 against the Iowa Cubs. Since then, he's allowed seven total earned runs in 30 1/3 innings pitched. That's a 2.08 ERA in 30 1/3 innings pitched in six starts.

Arguably, it's time to give him a shot. Matthew Liberatore bounced back on Tuesday with one earned run allowed in five innings pitched against the Atlanta Braves. Mathews is worthy of a promotion, regardless of the role. Whether that means in the rotation, coming out of the bullpen, or some hybrid of both. The Cardinals should be watching Mathews closely right now.

He's the Cardinals' No. 6 overall prospect right now for a reason. The upside is there and he's really starting to put it all together right in front of our eyes down in Triple-A. Between now and the Aug. 3 trade deadline, it would be surprising to see the Cardinals do anything crazy and make a splash. But if the Cardinals want to improve internally, promoting Mathews could be another way to do so, like the club's recent promotions of Jimmy Crooks and Blaze Jordan. The young lefty should be the next man up to the big leagues, on top of Báez and Gastelum.