Inside The Cardinals

Find Out Which Cardinals Rising Star Is Being Compared To 3-Time Cy Young Winner

The young St. Louis hurler is making a name for himself
Nate Hagerty|
Jun 20, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) before throwing against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Jun 20, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) before throwing against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals fans have endured great suffering the past disappointing two seasons and are left with many questions regarding the franchise's future.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak didn't do much this offseason to help the franchise recover from the past two years of St. Louis missing the playoffs by a long shot.

With this year's roster looking similar to last season's, it's challenging for Cardinals fans to gauge how soon the 11-time World Series champions will return to being a dominant force in the National League. Fortunately, a young rising star could soon be impactful.

"(Cardinals) Spring Breakout manager Ryan Ludwick on his early comparison for left-handed pitcher Quinn Mathews, the No. 2-ranked player in the STL organization," MLB.com's John Denton wrote Friday morning. "Mathews impressed Ludwick with his first live batting practice session in 2024. The comp Ludwick on Mathews: 'I don't like giving comps because it's hard to live up to. When I think to that live (BP), the guy who I saw in his first big-league start was Clayton Kershaw. Big, tall, lefty, good stuff. Obviously, he's got a long road to go to become Clayton Kershaw.'”

Matthews stands at a towering 6' 5", similar to Kershaw, a 6' 4" southpaw. However, the latter debuted at 20 years old with nearly a 40-pound advantage over the Cardinals' top prospect.

The 24-year-old St. Louis hurler dominated in his minor-league debut last year -- logging an 8-5 record with a 2.76 ERA, 202-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .179 batting average against and a 0.98 WHIP in 143 1/3 innings pitched, during which he played for Single-A Palm Beach, High-A Peoria, Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.

Kershaw completed two years in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system before debuting toward the beginning of the 2008 season. Despite enduring a challenging rookie campaign, the three-time NL Cy Young winner is a no-bout future Hall of Fame candidate.

Hopefully, when all is said and done, Matthews will live up to Kershaw's incredible career, which has entailed an elite 212-94 record with a 2.50 ERA, 2968-to-678 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .210 batting average against and a 1.01 WHIP throughout his illustrious 17-year career with the Dodgers.

Considering that Mattews hasn't debuted yet, it's too early to predict he'll earn five ERA titles, three NL Cy Young awards, 10 All-Star appearances and more accolades. Still, it's exciting that the Cardinals might have a starting pitcher similar to Kershaw within their farm system. Only time will tell what the young southpaw's future in St. Louis looks like.

More MLB: Here's Why Cardinals Signed Veteran Reliever In Midst Of Confusing Youth Movement

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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