Matthew Liberatore is proof that the Cardinals' youth experiment could work

The names we heard all offseason of players who would be given a full run this year were Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, and Jordan Walker. Alec Burleson was eventually added to that list, too.

However, it wasn't until late in Spring Training that Matthew Liberatore's name was brought up. Liberatore, a starter as a prospect, was used in a variety of roles in the majors. Prior to 2025, he found most of his success as a reliever. I advocated that he stay in that role this year, for he was one of the club's best relievers last year. With the departure of Andrew Kittredge and the possibility of regression from JoJo Romero and Ryan Fernandez, having some assurance in Liberatore in relief would be welcome.

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak and manager Oliver Marmol were clear that Liberatore would be given an extended run as a starting pitcher. I was initially opposed to this switch for the southpaw. I thought his greatest value would be as a reliever. Boy, was I wrong.

“But Liberatore, when you tell someone to go work on something and they come back as dialed in as Libby, and making the most of every opportunity? He earned that flat-out, and I wanted him to have the ability to go into St. Louis knowing that he’s a starter and not the back and forth," said manager Oli Marmol. "This isn’t a tryout of a couple of starts. He’s going to start. Don’t look over your shoulder, go be a starter, and we’ll evaluate as we go.”

Matthew Liberatore is proof that the St. Louis Cardinals' youth movement could work out.

Through five starts, Liberatore has a 2-2 record with a 3.19 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He's struck out 28 batters in 31 innings, and he's walked only two batters all year. His 14/1 K/BB ratio is second in all of baseball among qualified pitchers. He's been the club's best starting pitcher this year.

Liberatore has thrown at least six innings in every start so far. He's allowed more than three runs in only one start, and hitters are batting just .235 against him. His slider is generating whiffs at a 36.7% rate, and he's made drastic improvements to his cutter. He's added nearly two inches of glove-side movement to it while decreasing its vertical break to make it more of a straight pitch.

It's been six years since the Cardinals produced a homegrown pitcher who can be a viable starter. Jack Flaherty was the last pitcher who grew up in the system and found success in the rotation. Pitchers like Dakota Hudson and Jake Woodford flopped for the team. While Andre Pallante has been successful since his reboot as a starter last year, he's not necessarily a top-of-the-rotation arm that the club has needed lately.

With a full runway toward success this year, Matthew Liberatore has every chance to prove that the transition and youth movement could be successful for the Cardinals. If he can become a productive starter, Liberatore not only makes good on John Mozeliak's trade for him years ago, but he also sets up Chaim Bloom's future rotation well.