6 Cardinals' prospects who could make their MLB debut in 2024

Michael McGreevy

Gordon Graceffo was on my list at this point, but Redbird Rants' own J.T. Buchheit proposed a Graceffo call-up a couple of months back. Instead, I'll throw in Michael McGreevy, a prospect who has been mentioned in tandem with Graceffo for the past 3 years. As of mid-season last year, McGreevy was ranked as the Cardinals' 12th-best prospect in their system.

McGreevy, 23, has largely been underwhelming as a prospect. He pitched 134.1 innings last year for Memphis, and not one of his numbers stands out above another. His 18% K rate is fine, his 6.2% walk rate is good, his 1.47 WHIP is decent, and his 4.49 ERA is fine for a back-end starting pitcher. McGreevy's prospect status peaked after the 2021 season when he pitched in High-A and AA.

Michael McGreevy is excellent at throwing strikes; the only problem is that batters typically hit only strikes. He allowed an average of 10.7 hits per 9 innings last year in Memphis, and he allowed line drives on nearly 24% of batted balls against him. Historically, McGreevy is known as a groundball pitcher, but a 52.4% groundball rate at the highest minor league level is concerning.

What's good about McGreevy is his track record. Once he settles into a level, he is able to limit walks, get ground balls, and use his deep repertoire to throw off batters. McGreevy's debut in the majors would likely be as a reliever, but I could see a scenario in which he makes an appearance in a doubleheader as an opener next year.