Former Cardinals minor league pitcher of the year is regaining his form in Memphis

The St. Louis Cardinals have been extremely successful in keeping their major league pitching staff in full health. While the entirety of Major League Baseball would love that magic potion, the drawback of this superpower is the lack of opportunity presented for minor leaguers to prove their worth. This means someone like Quinn Mathews, the former top pitching prospect in the organization, will need to wait to show his new stuff is for real.

With six healthy starters in the rotation for the time being, any rotation shakeup would have to come from a trade or the injury bug finally striking the Cardinals. In either of those cases, the Cardinals would need to get some help from their minor league system, and that support could come from either Brycen Mautz or from Mathews, who has turned a corner after a rough season-plus.

Quinn Mathews should get his chance at the big league level this season

A fourth-round pick in 2023, Mathews did not debut until the following season and the time off was worth it as the lefty was named the Cardinals 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He ended up pitching at all four minor league levels that season and looked to be a real option for the major league rotation during the offseason. After a brief spring training cameo, Mathews was sent to minors camp and issues struck that kept him from progressing beyond Triple-A. He experienced some command issues before being shutdown with a shoulder injury and never seemed to get back to full strength.

The lanky lefty talked about those struggles coming into this year and how he looked to move past them to continue moving up the organizational ladder. After fighting with the strike zone early again this season, Mathews has locked in lately thanks to some new movement on his pitches. Baseball America recently profiled Mathews as a Statcast Standout to showcase his reworked stuff.

This data came after Mathews' most recent start that saw him strike out nine batters in six innings of work while walking just one. That outing came one start after he struck out eight batters over just four innings of work, but his appearance was cut short thanks to four walks. Over his last 10 innings, Mathews has allowed just eight baserunners and has seen all of his offerings improve. When there is an opportunity for a lengthy audition, Mathews should have his name near the top of the list.

While Mathews is not currently on the 40-man roster, the only other starter option is Brycen Mautz. Since Mathews needs to be added to the roster count this offseason to be protected in the Rule-5 Draft anyway, the Cardinals should skip the suspense and reward him with a spot as long as his command continues to improve. While Mautz and others have gotten some time out the major league bullpen this season, I would urge the Cardinals to keep Mathews on a starter regimen since he has been working through a lot of changes for the past year.

Of course, the continued health of the starting pitching staff is priority number one and Mathews making his debut this season would mean a lot has changed in the next few months. While a trade of a starter is a likely outcome at some point this year, Mathews will have to wait for an extended opportunity to best showcase his skills to the big league club.

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