Cardinals' Left-Hander Used '26 to Show his Stuff Plays in Big Leagues

Growth, as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol pointed out repeatedly over the final month of the 2026 season, can be measured in a variety of ways.

One way, of course, is the standings – an area where the Cardinals fell back a win from 2025 (78-84) to 2026 (77-85), one that was somewhat expected with the widespread youth on the roster and the club selling off veteran pitchers JoJo Romero and Dustin May for prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Instead, the Cardinals tried to evaluate areas of growth in non-traditional ways in a non-traditional season in St. Louis.

Growth was having a defined core group of players – Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Riley O’Brien – take major steps in their games and evolve into building blocks.

Growth was seeing Leo Bernal, Joshua Baez, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe and Nathan Church live up to the hype that followed them from the Minor Leagues and show signs they can be depended on going forward.

Growth was Andre Pallante and Gordon Graceffo shaking off the struggles of 2025 and showing the fortitude to change the trajectory of their careers.

Growth was even journeymen relievers Justin Bruihl and George Soriano pitching better than they ever have in their careers.

“This is a really young group, but there’s been a lot of progress with so many of these guys,” Marmol said. “You can go up and down the lineup and you see growth from so many of our guys. Then, go to the rotation and what McGreevy, Pallante and Leahy did this season, and the bullpen as well. Our staff has really enjoyed pouring into that group. They are hungry for information and they want to be coaches, so that’s made it a lot of fun.”

However, as president of baseball operation Chaim Bloom reminds, the Cardinals still have major gulfs between them and MLB’s top teams. The National League champion Brewers, after all, finished 26 games ahead of St. Louis and battered the Cards in 11 of 13 head-to-head meetings. Much more growth is needed for the Cards to better navigate the difference the rebuilding and contending.

With growth being the focus, let’s look back at the performances by individual players in the 2026 season and how they will figure into the Cards’ plans going forward in 2027 and beyond:  

Player name: Quinn Mathews

Age: 26

How acquired: Selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round (No. 122 overall) of the 2023 MLB Draft

2026 statistics: MLB – Nine games/nine starts, 2-4, 3.83 ERA, 49 1/3 IP, 48 hits, 21 earned runs, five homers allowed, 46 strikeouts, 20 walks, .259 batting average allowed; Triple-A Memphis – 21 games/21 starts, 5-4, 3.27 ERA, 99 IP, 61 hits, 36 earned runs, 13 homers allowed, 120 strikeouts, 61 walks, .179 batting average allowed 

Key numbers: Mathews started five games in September and pitched to a 3.03 ERA. Over his last five starts, he pitched at least five innings and allowed three or fewer runs.

Looking back to 2026: After struggling badly with shoulder pain and command issues in 2025, Mathews rebounded in 2026 and pitched well enough to get to the big leagues for his MLB debut. He pitched well in spot starts in Toronto and Cincinnati, but he struggled mightily in his first rotation start in Philadelphia. The way he finished strong in September – keeping his pitch count manageable and working deep into games – should give him a shot at earning a spot in the starting staff in 2026.  

Looking forward to 2027: At 26 years old, Mathews is a mature, heady pitcher who worked loads of games in college and comes into games with a good plan of how he wants to get hitters out. However, he can sometimes be his own worst enemy with his negative energy and how high his expectations are for himself. Mathews is never going to be a high strikeout pitcher, but he uses his slider, changeup and curveball combination to keep the ball off barrels. His 4.9 percent barrel rate ranked in MLB’s 89th percentile, while his hard-hit rate of 36.8 percent ranked in MLB’s 64th percentile. He would likely be wise to throw more sliders, a pitch he threw 22 percent of the time and limited foes to .185 batting average in 2026.  

Denton’s analysis: Much like teammate and good friend Michael McGreevy, Mathews knows how to pitch and whatever he might lack in raw stuff, he makes up for it with high baseball IQ and strong preparation skills. His four-seam fastball sits at just 93.3 mph on average, so he must use breaking balls to keep hitters guessing. Already, he is elite at hitting his spots and making hitters swing at the pitches he wants. As long as he can keep his command and pitch ahead in counts, Mathews can be a dependable starter in the Cardinals’ starting staff.