Young Cardinals pitching hotshot appears to have regained his footing after shaky 2025

The St. Louis Cardinals came into 2026 with a rotation cobbled together with bubble gum and popsicle sticks, and injuries to their rotation depth in the minor leagues early in the year didn't help matters. The Cardinals lost Richard Fitts for the season after he underwent surgery for a right lat strain, and they suffered another blow when Brandon Clarke was sidelined until midseason to remove an aneurysm from his throwing arm. An additional cause for concern was the rough 2025 of left-hander Quinn Mathews, but he's done everything possible lately to assuage those fears.

Mathews missed much of the first few months of 2025 with shoulder soreness, and he never quite found his stride with Triple-A Memphis, holding an uncharacteristically high 16.8% walk rate and a career-low 26.1% strikeout rate. After an up-and-down start to 2026, Mathews has pitched exceptionally since the beginning of June. Over his last six starts, Mathews has a 2.23 ERA in 32.1 innings and owns a 31.1% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate.

Mathews could receive the call to The Show later this year

Now that Mathews looks to have reined in his control, there's a strong possibility that the Cardinals give him his first major league opportunity later this season. For a second, it appeared that Mathews might receive the call either as the 26th man or to fill the spot of Max Rajcic when the Cardinals entered their doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 7, but the team instead opted to add Hunter Dobbins as the extra man and promote Bruce Zimmermann to provide bullpen relief for the first game. Luis Gastelum is expected to take Zimmermann's spot within the next day.

Since the Cardinals decided to forgo Mathews' promotion prior to the doubleheader, they don't appear hasty to bring him up to the majors. If the Cardinals decide to promote Mathews, it's likely to be after the All-Star break, and then they'd have the dilemma of deciding which player to remove from their 40-man roster. Despite fans' complaints, the underperforming Matthew Liberatore is likely to remain in the rotation, as is Kyle Leahy — the team is still rebuilding, after all. The rotation seems set in stone for the remainder of the season barring any injuries.

Given the bullpen constraints and constant need for fresh arms, it appears unlikely that the Cardinals would subtract from that part of their roster, so designating a position player for assignment would probably be the smart move. Infielder César Prieto is blocked at every position he plays, and Yohel Pozo is an unnecessary fourth catcher. One of those two would likely be the favorite to receive the boot from the roster.

It may be smarter to wait to promote Mathews after the trade deadline, when the Cardinals should have some space on their 40-man roster to add him following the sell-off of some of their assets. Mathews could theoretically get his feet wet in the major leagues by throwing out of the bullpen, or he could just come up for a cup of coffee and take someone's spot in the rotation if manager Oli Marmol decides to push someone back a day.

Mathews has now proven that he can overcome obstacles in the minor leagues, which President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom has said he likes to see young players encounter to see how they approach their struggles. The big leagues should be the next stop for Mathews, and he could prove himself to be a core piece of a new-look Cardinals rotation moving forward.

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