Cardinals Could Aid Pitching Woes By Calling Up Top Prospect Amid Breakout Season

St. Louis has a top hurler in the farm system

Scott Neville | Apr 14, 2023

Cardinals Could Aid Pitching Woes By Calling Up Top Prospect Amid Breakout Season /

In this story:

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have limped out of the gate this season, largely due to unreliable pitching.

The Cardinals lack high-end pitching talent both in the present and in the long-term view -- Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz are the only starters signed through 2024.

With the season underway and the trade deadline months away, the Cardinals will have to look within for help. Fortunately, their second-highest-rated pitching prospect is on fire.

Matthew Liberatore -- the Cardinals' No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- appears to be putting it all together.

The 23-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.06 ERA, 24-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .175 batting average against and 1.00 WHIP in 17 innings for Triple-A Memphis across three outings.

Liberatore's pedigree combined with his early dominance is enough to warrant attention -- but his last start was truly eye-popping.

"During his most recent start Wednesday, (Liberatore) reached 97.5 mph on his sinker and averaged 95.4 mph with his fastball," St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Dan Guerrero wrote. "His final pitch of his 97-pitch, 10-strikeout outing against Gwinnett was a 96-mph fastball."

The Cardinals could use some help and Liberatore could finally be ready now that his velocity is starting to tick up. One young hurler is not going to solve all of the issues that led St. Louis to a 5-8 start, but he might help steady the rotation.

More MLB: Deal For Former All-Star Pitcher Could Be Big Splash Needed To Put Cardinals Over Top

Published Apr 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu