Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year continues hard work with Tread Athletics

The offseason is a time for players to rest, work on their craft, and develop their game. Some players opt to take the first few weeks of the offseason as recovery weeks and don't touch a baseball or a bat. Others may choose to get to work once their season ends to develop pitches, maintain their hitting eye, and shag fly balls.

For St. Louis Cardinals minor-league pitcher of the year Brycen Mautz, the offseason is a chance to develop his game even further.

St. Louis Cardinals MiLB pitcher of the year gets offseason work in with Tread Athletics.

Brycen Mautz was named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the 2025 season. Mautz, 24, pitched for Double-A Springfield throughout the 2025 season. He finished with an 8-3 record and a 2.98 ERA across 25 starts and 114.2 innings. He struck out 28.6% of batters he faced while walking only 7.1% of them.

The southpaw ranked fourth among Cardinals minor league pitching leaders in wins, second in strikeouts, sixth in ERA, fifth in innings pitched, eighth in strikeout percentage, fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio, sixth in WHIP, and fourth in opponent on-base percentage (.277) (min. 50.0 innings pitched).

Larry Day, the Cardinals' Director of Player Development, spoke highly of Mautz. "Brycen’s 2025 season showcased tremendous growth through a calculated process," said Day. "Those that know Brycen are not surprised, after he spent an off-season dedicating himself to velocity development.” Day spoke of Mautz's willingness to work with the new pitching development team that has been in place for two years now. The club's Director of Player Development was also complimentary of Brycen's work ethic.

Mautz flipped the script in 2025. After posting a 5.18 ERA across 24 starts at High-A Peoria in 2024, he was able to dramatically improve across the board. The former second-rounder utilizes a three-quarters slot to increase his velocity and give hitters a different look. MLB Pipeline most recently ranked him as the organization's 20th-best prospect, but he'll see a big jump in their next rankings.

Historically, the Cardinals and John Mozeliak have been hesitant to send their players to places like Driveline or Tread. The front office preferred players to work with staff inside the organization rather than seek help elsewhere. Between Jordan Walker's work with Driveline and Mautz's presence at Tread, there appears to be a change in philosophy from the new front office.

I was able to speak with Paul Hall Jr. of Tread Athletics about Mautz's work. Hall, who has been working with Brycen for over a year now, said that the biggest thing they've been working on lately is direction for Mautz. "I think the biggest thing for Brycen was taking the guessing game out of the equation regarding where he needed to go in his development," said Hall. "(Brycen) was motivated to correct the performance issues of 2024 and flip the script in 2025."

Brycen and Hall worked on mechanical adjustments that would adjust his collection and leg lift that would create increased spinal flexion and eventually affect his ball release. They also focused on his routine in addition to these mechanical adjustments. "My intention was to have him feel more prepared going into spring training than the previous year," said Hall.

Brycen's offseason work leading into the 2025 season is the primary reason he was able to find so much success with Double-A Springfield. Hall echoed what Larry Day said about Brycen's offseason work. "(Brycen) began doing things he hadn’t previously experience in years prior — commanding the baseball more consistently with every pitch option, throwing with increased velocity (touching 97 mph & avg. during Spring Training), and ultimately starting to feel like the pitcher he always believed he could be," said Hall of Mautz's offseason work.

One thing that every young pitcher has to experience to grow is maturation. Velocity gains, spin boosts, and adjustments to a pitch arsenal are all valuable attributes as a pitcher rises through the minors, but a player's ability to grow as a person is just as important. "Just as important was his maturation as a pitcher from a skill and decision-making standpoint," Hall Jr. said. "Many of our conversations revolved around reflection; what he learned, what he executed well, and what he could have done differently in specific situations, regardless of the outcome."

Brycen would set benchmarks for himself internally with each game, including staying out of deep counts, winning at bats early, finishing hitters when he was ahead in the count, and maintaining intensity as the games went on.

Paul Hall Jr. and Brycen Mautz are looking to build on his 2025 success as he heads into his third professional season. One goal for them is to "capture the next 5%." That could come via an uptick in velocity. It could also come in improvements to his changeup, particularly giving it more negative vertical movement (depth) for better separation from his four-seamer and sinker. The two are also working with Brycen's plus command.

"We’re also leaning into what already makes him successful by prioritizing command work within his hot zones, guided by heat-map data, while continuing to iron out overall consistency with the slider."

Regardless of where the growth comes from in 2026, Brycen and Paul are hoping to continue to improve the southpaw's craft. The Cardinals have their eyes set on the future, and Brycen Mautz could be a key player as soon as 2027, if not 2026.

Mautz turned 24 in July. His age, paired with his recognition as the pitcher of the year, should put him on the fast track to the majors very soon. He'll start the year with Triple-A Memphis next year, but he could hear his name called for a debut in the second half of the 2026 season if all goes well for him.