Cardinals rainout accelerates timeline for top prospect to rejoin rotation

The St. Louis Cardinals had their Wednesday evening contest against the Kansas City Royals postponed to Thursday due to rain, effectively guaranteeing the promotion of Michael McGreevy for this weekend's series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

According to manager Oliver Marmol, the Cardinals were planning on moving to a six-man rotation for this grueling stretch of games they are embarking on, with Sunday being the day that they were likely to give that sixth man their start. There was already speculation that McGreevy would be that guy, especially after he was pulled from his shutout start on Tuesday after just 4.1 innings of work, but the doubleheader being played Thursday seems to scream to me that will be their reality.

The Cardinals will likely have Michael McGreevy rejoin the rotation this weekend, but for how long?

With Miles Mikolas and Matthew Liberatore both slated to start Thursday, Sonny Gray is going to take the ball for the Cardinals on Friday, and Erick Fedde will be starting on Saturday. While Steven Matz could be that spot starter like they did earlier in the season, I would guess they'd like to keep him in the bullpen, especially given their recent woes trying to shut down games.

Phil Maton and Kyle Leahy have been excellent for the Cardinals this season, but both relievers have not had their best stuff as of late, especially Leahy. The Cardinals' bullpen has been much better since the first few weeks of the year, but if they are not careful, they could certainly see regression from that group again soon.

Keeping Matz in the bullpen seems like the no-brainer move. They need to keep that group as deep as possible, especially if they drop down to seven arms in the bullpen in order to accommodate the six-man rotation.

McGreevy is more than deserving to be a part of that rotation mix by now anyway. He's dazzled in his big league appearances so far in his career, and owns a 2.78 ERA in Triple-A so far this year. He's ready to be in the rotation full time, and this should be the start of that.

After the Cardinals are done running a six-man rotation, assuming McGreevy performs, he should not be on the bus back to Memphis this time. Andre Pallante, who has struggled all year, even dating back to spring training, could use some time in Memphis to refine his game and get things back on track on the mound. McGreevy can slide into his spot, and Pallante can earn his way back to St. Louis, or come back up when an injury occurs.