Ranking the 10 most valuable Cardinals who will define their future

#8 - LHP Liam Doyle

Previous Rankings: Sept. '25 - #7, May '25 - Wasn't drafted yet

Believe it or not, this is the highest a pitcher ranks on this list right now. But Liam Doyle has the stuff to rise up this list as he gets more comfortable facing professional hitting.

There seems to be a bit of panic amongst fans regarding how Doyle has looked so far in 2026, but I think it would be incredibly unfair to make too many conclusions about him right now. The Cardinals were aggressive in placing Doyle at Double-A to begin the year, knowing that he would be tested immediately and likely fail, but they did so knowing how competitive he is and because it would force him to focus on his weaknesses early and often.

Prior to Saturday, Doyle had made four Double-A starts this year, allowing 12 earned runs in just 11.2 innings of work, striking out 13 batters and walking six in the process. That stat line is not going to make anyone feel good about him, but it is very important to know that Doyle is intentionally working on developing his arsenal, rather than just trying to blow away Double-A hitters with his best stuff.

But in his fifth outing of the year on Saturday, Doyle was in command of the game, throwing 4.1 innings while allowing just two hits, one walk, and one run with five strikeouts. Adam Akbani pointed out that he's got a 1.42 ERA and 37.5 K% against the last 24 batters he has faced this year, while walking just 4.2% of them and only allowing four hits.

Everyone knows about Doyle's fastball, which sits in the upper-90s and gets above 100 MPH when he wants it to. It's a true 70-grade pitch that can be his go-to offering as a Major Leaguer and one of the best in the sport, but if he wants to be a truly dynamic starter for a long time, he has to get his secondaries in order.

His splitter is already a really good pitch as well, moving in the upper 80s, and is the best swing-and-miss offering he has among his secondaries. But where Doyle really could use work is with his slider and cutter, with both pitches' development likely being the key to him unlocking his full upside.

So, the Cardinals have him throwing those pitches and working on them in games as often as possible, even when he could just go to his fastball or splitter to get the job done. Now, at the moment, Doyle is pretty all over the place and is even struggling to land the fastball at times, so it's not hard to see how he needs a lot of work. Don't be surprised if all of 2026 is pretty up and down for Doyle, as that may be what is needed to get him to the guy fans want to see him become.

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