Cardinals' playing time meet and greet: Pitchers edition part one

The St. Louis Cardinals have subscribed to the notion of being uncompetitive in 2026. They've done so by trading away star first baseman Willson Contreras and veteran right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox.

The return on both deals consisted entirely of young pitchers that St. Louis will look to use heading into next season. There has been a lot of talk about who could still be traded and what the Cardinals might want in return, but not as much about what they already have. The Redbirds have stockpiled young players for a few years now. The boys in the Lou had an average age of 26.3 years in 2025, and that should plummet with the swapping of experience for potential.

 My question is: What players have earned their keep headed into 2026? The Cardinals' generational divide from common sense led them to overvalue former players like Dylan Carlson, Paul DeJong, Dakota Hudson, and Alex Reyes, to name a few, which has spread to the fans. Let’s break down the reality of the situation in St. Louis and what some of these players are to their core at this point.

Gordon Graceffo

A former top prospect in the St. Louis organization, Graceffo got his first real run at playing time in 2025 and presented a mixed bag. His season consisted of 43 innings, a 6.28 ERA, and 40 strikeouts. 

The 25-year-old right-hander excelled in terms of fastball velocity, and his expected ERA sat at a much more respectable 4.46. Graceffo looks to be the long man out of the bullpen for the Cardinals heading into 2026, and his role confuses me. He throws HARD, and doesn’t walk guys. That’s the baseline for a back-end arm. 

I understand that Graceffo has already been stretched out as a starter, and it’s easy for him to slot right into a bulk innings role. However, I would suggest to St. Louis that his talents might be more effectively employed in the latter innings of a game. 

Graceffo has the arm talent to blow hitters away; he just needs a few tweaks to pitch shape and maturity in command over his pitch mix. The Cardinals should be looking for every opportunity to see what the young flamethrower can amount to in big situations rather than selling him short as the long man.

Michael McGreevy

The young command artist burst onto the scene with a fun stretch to kick off his big-league cup of coffee. His self-announcement included an MLB debut worth its weight in gold, where McGreevy twirled seven innings of one-run ball against the defending champion Texas Rangers. 

Since then, he’s been about as average as you can be. It pains me to say this, but the way that McGreevy attacks hitters and his arsenal remind me of a younger Miles Mikolas with more conviction. He doesn’t have the velocity to blow anyone away, and although the command of his repertoire is elite, how elite is the actual pitch mix? 

McGreevy would make a wonderful fifth starter to round out a rotation or a long man in a competitive team's bullpen. Unfortunately, he looks to be St. Louis’ second or third man in rotation. Unless he demonstrates alien-like control that’s almost conducive to Greg Maddux, I doubt that McGreevy will uphold his early-career success as the book gets out on the young right-hander. 

Changes in his role and putting McGreevy in positions to succeed could benefit him much more than letting him start a game and running for as long as he can.

Richard Fitts

One of the Cardinals’ offseason acquisitions to this point is young hurler Richard Fitts. Fitts, 26, is projected to round out the Redbirds’ rotation for 2026.

Through 65 big-league innings, Fitts has amounted to a 3.97 ERA but also a very high FIP of 5.02. The youngster looks primed for regression, and if the Cardinals don’t make adjustments before the season, it could really hinder their chances of seeing what he’s capable of. 

Fitts should see real time in the rotation, but if he starts to sputter come July, St. Louis has plenty of other options to pivot to and shouldn’t hesitate to do so. Fitts’ fastball velocity creates a lane for him that past Cardinals projects haven’t had access to, which increases my confidence in his development.

When it comes to these three youngsters, St. Louis has some serious decision-making to do. Nobody should stand in the way of the betterment of the club, and the Cardinals have a lot of talent to sort through. New President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom will likely have to cut ties with more than one former Cardinals golden boy.