4 intriguing minor league arms who could debut with the Cardinals in 2024
If the St. Louis Cardinals need bullpen aid in 2024, these promising young pitchers could provide quality innings.
Pitching was a major problem for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2023, and while the rotation shouldered most of the blame, the bullpen had its issues as well. The Cardinals bullpen had a 4.47 ERA last season, which ranked 23rd in the major leagues. Ryan Helsley was not the dominant force at the back end of games that he showed himself to be in 2022, and Giovanny Gallegos, the team's other bullpen stalwart, had a down season by his standards as well.
The Cardinals have a few spots in their bullpen solidified for the 2024 season, but questions remain about the bridge to get there. John King was a pleasant surprise, as he surrendered only three earned runs in 18.2 innings, but his 3.84 FIP suggests regression is imminent. Andre Pallante had issues last season, with a 4.76 ERA and only 5.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Perhaps the “death ball” he has been crafting will help him improve.
One can’t forget about the arms on the farm, though. The Cardinals' minor league pitching department has been much maligned in recent years, as the team has fallen far behind most of the major leagues in its development of pitchers amid its insistence of relying on defense instead of strikeouts, but some hurlers made strides at the minor league levels and could find their way into the Cardinals bullpen this season.
These four pitchers have a chance to make their major league debuts out of the bullpen for the Cardinals in 2024.
Andre Granillo
Although the Cardinals (perhaps unwisely) spent most of their recent pitching draft picks on pitch-to-contact control artists, Andre Granillo breaks from that herd. The Cardinals drafted Granillo in the 14th round in 2021 out of UC Riverside after he showed improved stuff in the Cape Cod League.
Granillo is strictly a bullpen arm, and he broke out in 2022, posting elite strikeout numbers amid a fastball that drastically increased in velocity, from the high 80s and low 90s to the mid-90s. He fanned 14.9 batters per nine innings across three levels, although his 5.2 walks per nine was higher than desired. His strikeout percentage of 35.7% in 2022 trailed only Tink Hence among pitchers in the Cardinals system with 50 innings or more.
Granillo pairs his fastball with a lethal slider, which had a whiff rate around 60% the past two seasons. His sinker and curveball need work, and his changeup could stand to improve to give him a weapon against left-handed hitters. Granillo is close to seeing major league action, and it looks like the Cardinals may have unearthed a gem in the late rounds.
Ian Bedell
A healthy Ian Bedell turned heads in 2023 after Tommy John surgery sidelined him for all but 8.1 innings in 2021 and 2022. The Cardinals drafted Bedell in the fourth round of the five-round 2020 draft, and he blossomed in 2023, putting up a career-best 2.44 ERA in 96 innings at High-A Peoria. He also struck out 106 batters.
Command has long been Bedell's calling card, especially with his curveball. His fastball won't blow anyone away, as it sits around 94 mph, but it has decent movement and spin. A slider that he added to his arsenal at the beginning of 2023 has also paid substantial dividends.
Bedell's ceiling, like that of many pitchers in the Cardinals system, is probably that of a back-of-the-rotation starter, but a job out of the bullpen in his first taste of the major leagues is likely. Although Bedell has yet to reach Double-A, the Cardinals will likely put him on the fast track given that he's already 24.
Gordon Graceffo
A fifth-round pick by the Cardinals in 2021, Gordon Graceffo had a strong 2022, with a 2.97 ERA across High-A and Double-A, but he backslid in 2023, as his ERA inflated to 4.92. Shoulder inflammation sidelined Graceffo for two months at the start of the season, and his control wavered, as he walked 4.7 batters per nine innings, the highest mark of his career.
Graceffo's control issues were likely a result of his layoff, as control is usually slow to return after an arm injury. He possesses a wicked slider to retire right-handers, but he was ineffective when facing lefties last season, allowing them to post an .816 OPS. He didn't strike many southpaws out, either, as only 35 of the 200 left-handed batters he faced were set down on strikes.
If Graceffo can find a pitch to reliably retire left-handed hitters, he has a chance to be an effective starter. If he can't, he might fit more as a No. 4 or 5 starter in the Cardinals rotation. A healthy season will go a long way toward determining what kind of big league pitcher he can be.
Leonardo Taveras
Leonardo Taveras appeared to be on his way to a career season before being handed an 80-game suspension in early June for performance-enhancing substances, ruling him out for the rest of the year. In his limited, 20.1-inning sample of work, Taveras dazzled to the tune of a 3.10 ERA and a 45.2% strikeout rate.
If Taveras' breakout was real and he can sustain it when he returns to the mound in 2024, the Cardinals could have another pitcher who is capable of serving in their bullpen. He can touch triple digits with his fastball and has always racked up strikeouts at a high rate, but control problems looked to doom him to a minor league career — he walked 39 batters in 50.1 innings in 2022. However, his control improved markedly in his 2023 sample, as he walked only eight batters.
Taveras is not as well known as the other pitchers on this list given that his success last season spanned only 11 High-A games, but if he has put everything together, the 25-year-old could be a surprise pop-up prospect.
These four pitchers could be in the running to debut for the Cardinals in 2024 if injury or ineffectiveness befalls the bullpen. If the Cardinals adapt to how the rest of the league is developing pitchers, there could be more talented arms on the way.