After racing through the Cardinals’ Minor League system and ultimately reaching Triple-A Memphis late in the 2024 season, Quinn Mathews had to think his progression to the big leagues would materialize soon after.

However, the 25-year-old Mathews spent parts of three seasons in Memphis before the call finally came that he was being promoted to the Cardinals for what will be his MLB debut.

Mathews, the Cardinals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2024 when he struck out 202 hitters, will finally pitch at the MLB level on Saturday afternoon when St. Louis faces the Blue Jays in Toronto.

The call came for the 6-foot-5, 188-pound left-hander following a stellar two-month stretch where Mathews went 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA. Over those last nine starts, Mathews has struck out 69 batters while walking just 19.

The Cardinals pitching staff can certainly use the lift after Matthew Liberatore and Michael McGreevy were hit especially hard by the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday in lopsided losses. Dustin May and Andre Pallante pitched better on Wednesday and Thursday, but neither factored into the decision as both games went into the 10th inning. The Cards rallied to win 3-2 in 10 innings on Wednesday night, but they lost 4-2 on Thursday when rookie reliever Luis Gastelum was knocked around a second straight game.

The Mathews promotion comes as the Aug. 3 MLB Trade Deadline is approaching. The Cardinals tipped their hand about their approach to the 28-year-old May by lifting him after 70 pitches and five shutout innings on Wednesday. May, who can become a free agent at the end of the season, is expected to be dealt to a contending team in the coming days for prospects.

Left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, who has missed the past two weeks because of an appendicitis, also will be a free agent by season’s end and is expected to be dealt before the deadline as well.

After losing a makeup game to the Dbacks, two of three to the Reds and three of four to the rival Cubs at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals are set to play their next three against the Blue Jays in Toronto before traveling to New York to take on the Yankees early next week. Kyle Leahy, who equaled a mark set previously by 2005 Cy Young award winner Chris Carpenter by going at least six innings and allowing two earned runs or fewer in six straight starts, is scheduled to start on Friday and be followed by Mathews.

During his brilliant run over the past two months, Mathews struck out nine over six scoreless innings against Louisville on June 4. In his most recent outing, Mathews fanned a season-best 10 batters over seven innings of one-run baseball against Durham on July 24.

On the season, Mathews is 5-3 with a 3.13 ERA over 19 starts. The former Stanford University star has struck out 111 hitters compared to just 52 walks in 92 innings this season.

Mathews, a fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Cardinals, shot to Minor League fame in 2024 when he went 8-5 with a 2.76 ERA and struck out 202 hitters over 143 1/3 innings while progressing through Class-A Palm Beach, High-A Peoria, Double-A Springfield before finally landing in Triple-A Memphis.

However, Mathews’ surging progress was interrupted by shoulder pain and command issues throughout the 2024 season. Shoulder issues and mechanical problems limited him to just 24 starts and he went 4-7 largely because he issues 74 walks in 99 innings of work.

Mathews’ 2025 got off to a rocky start when he had four- and six-walk outings in April against Norfolk. He posted a 5.85 ERA in five May starts before turning his season around and changing the trajectory of his career. He went 3-0 in five June starts while holding the opposition to a .098 batting average, and he backed that up with a 1.04 ERA and a .163 opposition batting average in July.