Quick promotion of top prospect could signal a change in Cardinals' philosophy

The St. Louis Cardinals have their work cut out for them this offseason, and what new President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom decides to do will set the timeline for the future. Beyond the expected one or two trades and the few major league signings we may see, it may be time for some of the team's prospects to make a quick jump to the bigs to fill out the roster.

Promoting Liam Doyle quickly would be a welcomed (and needed) change for the Cardinals organization.

Somehow, the Cardinals only used a total of eight starting pitchers this season, but that also includes a total of three starts from Steven Matz and Kyle Leahy. Nobody from the rotation ended up on the injured list at any point this year and the only notable move came way too late when St. Louis finally cut ties with Erick Fedde after 20 starts of terrible results. Going into next year, though, only a few of those spots are guaranteed to be in the rotation at the start of the season.

With Miles Mikolas' contract expiring and Sonny Gray open to a trade, only Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore, and Andre Pallante seem likely remain from the 2025 starting five. Pallante, though, may not be a sure thing, as he was winless for two-plus months to end the year. Besides McGreevy and Liberatore, the rest of the rotation is unsettled. Leahy is expected to come into spring to battle for a rotation spot, and his past season could set him up well as a favorite for the job. Bloom already stated that the team needs to amp up their starting pitching and could do so on the free agent market, but barring any major signings, there is at least one spot without any answers.

While Bloom has already mentioned that he plans to continue letting prospects finish their development in the upper level of the minor leagues rather than rush them to the bigs, the pace at which their former first-round draft pick is promoted could signal a welcomed change in philosophy. Liam Doyle, the Cardinals' fifth-overall selection from this year's draft, made his professional debut at two different levels. The former Tennesee Volunteer standout pitched in two games, with his final appearance of the year coming in Double-A when the lefty threw two shutout innings and struck out three.

Doyle is known for his electric fastball and fiery personality, two things constantly missing from the Cardinals' traditional setup for a pitching staff. I do not expect Doyle to be handed the keys to a rotation spot, but an invite to big league camp this spring should not be off the table, similar to the way they handled other lefty prospect Quinn Mathews last season. With so many question marks in the rotation and Doyle being viewed as a potential frontline starter, I would love it if the Cardinals strayed from the common path and took an aggressive approach with Doyle and promote him through the minors quickly, as long as he appears competent.