Next Cardinals call-up seems obvious with pitcher dominating in Triple-A

If there is one thing that is a certain in baseball these days, it is that you can never have too much pitching depth.

Elbow and shoulder injuries are at an all-time high due to chasing higher velocities and other various factors, so having capable arms ready for the big leagues waiting in Triple-A has been more valuable than ever.

The Cardinals have had some pretty terrible luck this year with quite a few of their top pitching prospects landing on the IL. Luckily, there are a few under-the-radar arms that have been performing quite well in Triple-A, and one happens to be a member of their 2021 MLB draft class.

Andre Granillo won't find himself on any top prospect lists on any publications out there yet this season, but he has put up some of the best numbers out of any Cardinals pitcher in the entire minor league system.

Granillo was a 14th-round pick in 2021 out of the University of California-Riverside, and immediately debuted for Palm Beach and put up a 1.50 ERA over 14 games right after the draft that year. The right-hander continued to progress through the system ever since and has put up great numbers along the way. Over his 164 games he has pitched in, he has a 3.84 ERA, 1.284 WHIP, and a 12.2 K/9 over 220.1 innings pitched.

The California native has started his 2025 season off strong now with Triple-A Memphis, as he has struck out 24 batters and only walked 4 over 16.2 innings pitched. He has only allowed 3 earned runs over that span, which is good for a 1.62 ERA. The most important stat has been the walks allowed, as he has a career low 2.2 BB/9 this season so far, which is almost 3 points lower than his professional average.

Granillo's best pitch is his slider, which he even generated 7 whiffs on in an outing against Louisville last month.

After spending some valuable time in major league camp this past spring training, Granillo should be next in line to be added to the 40-man roster and get a shot in the major league bullpen. Like we have already seen with Ryan Fernandez this season, you never know when you might need a new arm from the minors, and Granillo has put himself in line for the next call-up.