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St. Louis Cardinals Prospect Dominant in First Spring Start

Jason Burke

Feb 25, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a spring training game at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning of a spring training game at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
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St. Louis Cardinals prospect Quinn Mathews, drafted out of Stanford in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft, rocketed his way through the minor leagues in 2024. On Tuesday, he made his first ever spring appearance with the big-league club.

The 6-foot-5 left-hander went two innings, which is to be expected since he'll be a starter no matter where he begind the season, but he was also handed the ball to start the game against the Toronto Blue Jays, and more than held his own.

Mathews went two scoreless innings, which included a three-up, three-down top of the first that was capped with a strikeout of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

In the second inning, he worked two quick outs, then gave up back-to-back singles to Ernie Clement and Steward Berroa, followed by a bases-loading walk to Davis Schneider.

Mathews would pitch his way out of the jam, striking out Nathan Lukes. He finished the game with two innings pitched, two hits and one walk allowed, along with a trio of strikeouts. He sat at 94 with his heater, and also worked in a slider and a changeup.

The lefty told John Denton of MLB.com after the game that he didn't sleep a ton, and the commute to the ballpark lasted nearly five hours, so his nerves weren't too bad after the early morning start to his day.

He also talked about that at-bat with Vladdy, saying, "I definitely saw Vlady’s eyes light up on [a first changeup] because it was more so up and I was like, ‘OK, I don’t think I can afford to do that again."

Mathews made his pro debut last season, beginning in A Ball where it took all of six starts for him to earn a promotion to High-A. He made seven starts at that level before getting lifted up to Double-A, where he'd make nine starts before finishing the season in Triple-A.

While his four Triple-A starts weren't as sterling as the 22 he had in his other three stops, there is a belief that Mathews will be in St. Louis with the Cardinals this season--and it could be sooner rather than later. In total, Mathews held a 2.76 ERA in 26 starts spanning 143.1 innings, while collecting 202 strikeouts and posting a 0.98 WHIP.

St. Louis is attempting to let the young guys play a bit more in 2025 to see what they have before tinkering with the roster for future campaigns. Given his season last year, Mathews, ranked as the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect on MLB Pipeline, figures to be a part of that future group that should see some time in the bigs this season.

The one impediment he could face initially is that he's not currently on the 40-man roster, while No. 2 prospect, Tink Hence, is. Hence hasn't made his Triple-A debut at this point, but he figures to begin the season there.

If the Cardinals are looking to make a change in the starting rotation early, then Mathews could be the guy for the job given his experience. But if this roster decision waits until midseason and both pitchers are performing well, then Hence could have the upper hand.

St. Louis has five starting pitchers projected to begin the year in the minor leagues that are also on their 40-man roster. All five are right-handers. That could be a separating factor for Mathews as well.

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Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.

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