Quinn Mathews has spent much of 2026 reminding the Cardinals why he was once viewed as one of the more intriguing arms in the system.
That wasn’t the case a year ago. Mathews’ 2025 was a mess by his standards, interrupted early by shoulder soreness and followed by uneven work at Triple-A Memphis.
His command wobbled badly, with a 16.8% walk rate, and his strikeout rate dipped to a career-low 26.1%. For a pitcher whose profile is built on missing bats and limiting traffic, it was a rough detour.
Lately, though, he’s looked like a different guy.
Since the beginning of June, Mathews has settled in and put together a strong run. Over his last six starts, he has posted a 2.23 ERA across 32.1 innings, while striking out 31.1% of hitters and walking 10.7%. After an up-and-down start to 2026, that stretch has gone a long way toward quieting concerns about whether he had truly regained his footing.
The Cardinals have needed that kind of development. They entered 2026 with a rotation pieced together with bubble gum and popsicle sticks, and the injury pileup in the minors only made things thinner. Richard Fitts is done for the season after surgery for a right lat strain, and Brandon Clarke won’t be back until midseason after having an aneurysm removed from his throwing arm.
That’s part of why Mathews has been worth watching so closely. At one point, it looked like he might get his first major league call during the July 7 doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, either as the 26th man or to replace Max Rajcic.
Instead, the Cardinals went with Hunter Dobbins as the extra arm and brought up Bruce Zimmermann to help out of the bullpen in the first game. Luis Gastelum is expected to take Zimmermann’s spot within the next day.
The decision to pass on Mathews then suggests the Cardinals aren’t in a rush. If he does get the nod, it probably won’t come until after the All-Star break. And when that day arrives, the club will have to clear room on the 40-man roster.
That part of the equation may be easier than it sounds. The rotation doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon, with Matthew Liberatore and Kyle Leahy likely staying put despite the grumbling from fans.
The bullpen, meanwhile, is already stretched thin and too valuable to raid. That leaves a position player as the likeliest casualty, with César Prieto blocked everywhere he plays and Yohel Pozo standing as an extra fourth catcher.
There’s also a case for waiting until after the trade deadline, when the Cardinals should have more room on the roster after moving some pieces. If and when Mathews arrives, he could be eased in from the bullpen or simply slide into the rotation if Oli Marmol wants to push someone back a day.
However it happens, the bigger point is that Mathews has shown he can handle adversity in the minors. Chaim Bloom has said that’s something he wants to see from young players, and Mathews has now given the Cardinals a better reason to believe he belongs in the conversation for a future rotation spot. The next stop should be the majors, and he may be on his way to becoming part of the Cardinals’ next-look staff.
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The reward for that rise is a long-awaited major league debut, and the timing could hardly be more important for St. Louis. He has been effective in Triple-A this year, posting a 2.27 ERA across 36 outings, and the Cardinals will now see whether that production can carry over when the games start coming fast and the margin for error gets even smaller. [Read more 🡒]