Re-ranking the 10 most valuable young players in Cardinals' organization

#10 - Michael McGreevy (Previous ranking: #10)

Sitting at number ten on this list, I gave Michael McGreevy the slight edge over Matthew Liberatore due to years of control remaining and a bit of a steadier floor as a starting pitcher.

Liberatore clearly has the higher ceiling, and even showed he can hit that middle of the rotation or number two starter production for sustained stretches in 2025, but continued concerns regarding his ability to handle a larger workload, get deep into ball games, and maintain velocity late into starts still plague him. It was great to see Liberatore push through these things to finish the year, but question marks will still surround him until we see what he can do next year.

McGreevy, on the other hand, is never going to be a top-end starter, but he has posted the best ERA among Cardinals starters in 2025 (4.08) and has done so with a 3.75 FIP to back it up. His dependability as a solid, back-of-the-rotation starter is much needed on a team that has lacked young pitching for years.

McGreevy won't hit arbitration until 2028 and won't be free agent eligible until 2031, so the Cardinals have to be happy about the cheap rotation option they have on their hands. I do think McGreevy has a bit more in the tank that he could hit long-term, pitching to a high-3s ERA while covering a lot of innings for the club.

If we were ranking this list purely on potential, McGreevy does not make the cut. But there is real value in a pitcher you can depend on every fifth day to give you a chance to win, especially on a cheap contract, and McGreevy checks those boxes right now in a way that frankly most young arms in the organization can't.