The Cardinals have plenty of names pushing for attention in Triple-A, but Quinn Mathews is starting to separate himself from the pack.
St. Louis already boasts one of baseball’s strongest farm systems, and MLB.com’s latest top 100 prospects list reflected that.
The Cardinals placed three players on it: catcher Rainiel Rodriguez at No. 13, pitcher Liam Doyle at No. 23 and Joshua Báez at No. 50.
Báez and reliever Luis Gastelum have drawn plenty of recent buzz as promotion candidates, and both have put themselves in position for a look in the not-so-distant future. But Mathews is another arm the Cardinals ought to keep front and center.
The left-hander has made 15 starts for Triple-A Memphis and owns a 3.95 ERA across 66 innings. His recent stretch has been especially encouraging.
He hasn’t given up more than three runs in an outing since May 22 against the Iowa Cubs, and since then he has allowed seven earned runs over 30 1/3 innings. That works out to a 2.08 ERA over six starts.
At this point, there’s a real case to give him a chance. Matthew Liberatore responded Tuesday with one earned run in five innings against the Atlanta Braves, but Mathews still looks like a pitcher worth promoting no matter how the Cardinals choose to use him. Rotation spot, bullpen role, or something in between - he should be on the radar.
There’s a reason Mathews sits as the Cardinals’ No. 6 overall prospect. The upside has been obvious, and he’s now beginning to show it more consistently in Triple-A.
With the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaching, it would be surprising to see St. Louis make a major external move.
If the Cardinals want to get better from within, Mathews offers a path forward, much like the club’s recent promotions of Jimmy Crooks and Blaze Jordan. He looks like the next man up, alongside Báez and Gastelum.
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