9 Cardinals who took advantage of their runway in 2025

LHP Matthew Liberatore

At the onset of the regular season, Matthew Liberatore earned a spot in the 2025 rotation. He had one of the best springs in the organization, and a reconfigured pitch mix was going to help him get all batters out hopefully.

Libby started the season off strong. He posted a 3.19 ERA in March and April and a 2.97 ERA in May. He threw 64.1 innings between those months as a starting pitcher, and he had walked only nine batters compared to 56 strikeouts. He was shoving early in the year.

Fatigue started to catch up with the southpaw as the days began to heat up. Libby posted a 5.14 ERA in June, a 6.57(!) ERA in July, and a 5.40 ERA in August. He's settled down in September with a 4.11 ERA in 15.1 innings. He'll likely make two more starts before the end of the year, presenting an opportunity for the 25-year-old lefty to improve his numbers even more.

On the year, Liberatore has a 4.30 ERA across 146.2 innings. His 6.2% walk rate places him in the 82nd percentile in baseball, and he's done a fine job at getting hitters to chase pitches outside the zone this year. However, he hasn't established himself as a strikeout pitcher (only 7.12 K/9), and his groundball rate (39.2%) is below league average. Essentially, Liberatore has been surviving on getting batters out via fly balls. His 40.2% fly-ball rate is 28th in the league.

Lucky for Matthew, nearly half of his season was played at Busch Stadium, a venue that is notorious for suppressing offense. He has a 4.08 ERA at home in 70.2 innings, and he's given up three fewer home runs at home this year compared to the road. His home run rate is down when he pitches at Busch, and the fly balls hit there are doing far less damage. This is evidenced by his 9.4% HR/FB ratio at home compared to a 11% HR/FB ratio on the road.

Matthew Liberatore has posted a career-low ERA this year in his first full season as a starting pitcher. It's clear that fatigue has caught up with him; however, he now has a better idea of how to prepare this offseason for the marathon that is an MLB season for a starting pitcher. Hopefully, Libby is able to learn from his 2025 season and make improvements next year. The starting rotation will be very thin, and his talent and experience will be necessary near the top.