Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Authors best start of season
Rotowire
Mathews struck out nine while yielding just one hit and one walk over six shutout innings in a start for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.
It's the best start of the season for Mathews, who faced just one over the minimum and induced 16 whiffs on 80 pitches. Mathews' major control problems have persisted this season at Memphis with a 17 percent walk rate, but he's also sporting a 30.5 percent strikeout rate and has been able to hold his velocity deep into outings. He could reach St. Louis at some point in the second half if he can get the walks down to an acceptable level.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Reassigned to minors camp
Rotowire
The Cardinals reassigned Mathews to minor-league camp Monday.
Mathews showed encouraging signs in his last Grapefruit League appearance in racking up seven strikeouts over 2.2 innings, but he was always destined to open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Memphis. The southpaw will be seeking a bounce-back year after he stumbled in 2025 with a 3.93 ERA and 107:74 K:BB over 94 innings with Memphis.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Sharp in third spring outing
Rotowire
Mathews allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out seven over 2.2 frames in Thursday's Grapefruit League appearance against the Pirates.
Mathews served up a home run in his final inning of work after Nolan Gorman had committed an error. The lefty's outing was very encouraging on the whole, though. Mathews averaged 95.2 mph with his four-seamer, induced 12 whiffs on 50 pitches and didn't issue a walk to go along with his seven punchouts. The lefty had been shaky in his first two appearances of the spring, so this was a nice step in the right direction. Mathews is slated to open 2026 in the Triple-A Memphis rotation.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Activated from Triple-A IL
Rotowire
Mathews (shoulder) was activated from Triple-A Memphis' 7-day injured list Saturday.
After missing more than a month of action with left shoulder inflammation, Mathews tossed five scoreless innings with an 8:0 K:BB in two rehab outings before being activated. His first outing back in the Memphis rotation didn't go as well, as he yielded two runs with a 3:3 K:BB over 2.2 frames Saturday. The southpaw has permitted nine runs with a 10:18 K:BB in 13 innings covering four starts with Memphis this season, so he'll be looking to get back on track in June now that he has hopefully put his shoulder issue behind him.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Ready to return
Rotowire
Mathews (shoulder) will make a rehab start this week with the Cardinals' Florida Complex League affiliate, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Mathews resumed a throwing program in late April as he bounces back from mild left shoulder soreness, and he's now ready to pitch in games. The left-hander will eventually move back up to Triple-A Memphis, where he posted a 6.10 ERA and 7:15 K:BB over his first 10.1 innings before getting injured.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: On Triple-A IL with sore shoulder
Rotowire
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said that Mathews was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Memphis on Sunday due to left shoulder soreness, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Mozeliak was unwilling to put a timeline on Mathews' return to action. Mathews' velocity was down in his last outing with Memphis on Friday, and he's posted a 6.10 ERA and 7:15 K:BB over his first 10.1 innings this season, so it's possible the shoulder has been nagging at him for a while. The Cardinals will proceed cautiously with the top prospect.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Misses out on Opening Day rotation
Rotowire
The Cardinals reassigned Mathews to minor-league camp Sunday.
Though Mathews is regarded as one of St. Louis' top pitching prospects, he was always facing an uphill battle to win a spot in the Opening Day rotation after having made just four starts above the Double-A level. The 24-year-old southpaw should still make his MLB debut at some point in 2025, but for now, the Cardinals will send him to minor-league camp to open up more innings in Grapefruit League play for other rotation candidates. He'll continue to stay in a starter's schedule at minor-league camp, with Rob Rains of StLSportsPage.com noting that Mathews will cover three innings Sunday in a game on the back fields.
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Cardinals' Quinn Mathews: Promoted to Double-A
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The Cardinals promoted Mathews from High-A Peoria to Double-A Springfield on Monday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Mathews is one of the biggest risers among pitching prospects this season, having dominated at both Single-A Palm Beach and Peoria, collecting a 2.18 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 110:20 K:BB over 74.1 innings in 13 starts between the two stops. His 110 punchouts lead all minor leaguers. Mathews was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft and didn't pitch in pro ball last season after throwing 124.2 innings in the spring as a senior at Stanford. He has elevated his standing in 2024 by showing a velocity spike.
