Cardinals promote pitcher Quinn Mathews to Triple-A Memphis

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on Wednesday that they would promote their #3 prospect Quinn Mathews to Triple-A Memphis. Mathews, 23, was drafted last year in the 4th round by the organization.

The last player to ascend four levels in one season for the St. Louis Cardinals was Junior Fernandez in 2019. This type of movement in one season is rare, and Quinn Mathews is deserving of the promotion to Triple-A Memphis.

Memphis will be Mathews's 4th team this year, as he started the year at Low-A Palm Beach. It didn't take long for him to leave Palm Beach and move north to Peoria. After just six starts and 30.2 innings in Palm Beach, Mathews had accumulated 52 strikeouts, and he posted an ERA of just 1.47.

The story was the same in Peoria for the southpaw; he threw 43.2 innings in seven starts, and he struck out 58 batters with a 2.68 ERA. Mathews was even more dominant at Double-A Springfield this year. He struck out 70 batters in 52.1 innings across nine starts for the Cardinals. His 2.41 ERA and 2.51 FIP in Springfield were stellar; he held batters to a .186 batting average, his WHIP sat at 0.96, and he had a 33.8% K rate in Springfield.

Memphis poses quite a challenge for Quinn Mathews, as the players at this level are drastically different and more talented. Additionally, the automated ball-strike system is used at the Triple-A level, and this system has historically benefitted hitters more than it has pitchers. However, Mathews seems ready for the challenge.

The Stanford graduate posted strong numbers heading into the 2023 draft, and he was most known prior to the draft for the time he threw 156 pitches in a Super Regionals matchup against Texas. Mathews' change-up has been dominant this year, and it's just one part of his pitching profile that has led him to be the minor league leader for strikeouts this year.

In a year that has been disappointing at the major league level for the Cardinals, fans can at least hang their hats on Quinn Mathews as a developing prospect. It's been five years since the Cardinals produced a starting pitcher with this much upside. Hopefully, Mathews can continue his ascent and help the major league rotation in 2025.