(Photo by Dan Jones)
The St. Louis Cardinals’ prospect Quinn Mathews is having an impressive start to his professional career, to say the least. The young left-handed pitching prospect has been dominant since day one, and he has been moving up the minor league levels at a rapid pace.
Mathews has been promoted for the third time this season after starting the season in Single-A Palm Beach. Not many players start their season in low Single-A and finish the season in Triple-A. The lefty leads the entire minor leagues with 180 strikeouts over 126.2 innings split between three levels. Additionally, he has posted an impressive 2.27 ERA with a miniscule 0.853 WHIP and 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
Cardinals’ Prospect Mathews Named Minor League Pitcher of the Month Twice
The 6’4″ Mathews got off to a strong start being named the minor league pitcher of the month for April. He posted a 2-0 record with a 0.50 ERA, giving up only one run over 18 innings pitched. Additionally, he posted a miniscule 0.89 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and only allowed seven hits across his first four professional starts. The lefty had two outings with eleven or more strikeouts with no walks allowed, including a 13-strikeout game at Fort Myers on April 26.
Mathews spent most of the month of June at High-A Peoria and earned his second pitcher of the month award. The sturdy lefty posted a 3-0 record with a 2.10 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP with 37 strikeouts. Additionally, he only allowed 15 hits over five starts. Furthermore, the 23-year-old prospect Mathews made four quality starts in a row at Peoria before being promoted to Double-A Springfield. The lefty finished off the month of June with another gem. He only allowed one hit over 5.1 innings pitched. After such a strong performance over the first half of the season, the Cardinals’ prospect Mathews was named to the National League All-Star Futures Game roster. The lefty continued his dominance post All-Star break highlighted by a near perfect game on August 23rd.
Cardinals Might Have Made a Steal in the Fourth Round
The Cardinals selected Mathews in the fourth round and signed him for $600,000. The lefty’s fastball stays in the low to mid 90’s and that’s fine if he can control it well. His changeup is the pitch that will likely get him the most strikeouts. It’s in the low 80’s with movement and can make his 92 mph fastball feel like upper 90’s. His changeup generated a 50 percent whiff and 44 percent chase rate in his final season at Stanford. He also uses a low 80’s slider and has an even slower curveball that he uses for an even bigger change of speeds.
Experience at Stanford Proves Beneficial
The Cardinals’ prospect Mathews made plenty of headlines in 2023 when he threw 156 pitches for Stanford in a Super Regionals matchup against Texas. His usage at Stanford spawned many debates. However, there’s no way he will ever have 150-pitch outings in the pros. Furthermore, the experience is important, and it has helped him move quickly through the minor league system.
The young lefty gained plenty of valuable big game experience pitching for Stanford, pitching in the College World Series twice. The future is bright for the young lefty, and he has a good chance to make the big leagues by 2025.
