St. Louis Cardinals Promote No. 3 Prospect to Triple-A

Jason Burke | Aug 28, 2024

Jun 19, 2023; Omaha, NE, USA; Stanford Cardinal starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (26) throws against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The St. Louis Cardinals have promoted left-hander Quinn Mathews to Triple-A, continuing the former Stanford Cardinal's impressive first season in pro ball.

Mathews, 23, was selected in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft by St. Louis and has been one of the most dominant starters in the minor leagues this season. He debuted in A-Ball, making six starts while holding a 1.47 ERA and striking out 52 across 30 2/3 innings. He continued to dominate at High-A, holding a 2.68 ERA in seven starts.

In Double-A, Mathews made a total of nine starts and was even better than he was in High-A, posting a 2.41 ERA while striking out 33.8% of the batters he faced and walking 7.2%. His FIP at each level has fallen between 2.16 (A-Ball) and 2.51 (Double-A), which means that the numbers back up those stats at each and every stop he has made.

We wrote not too long ago about Mathews leading the minors in strikeouts, and since then he has made one more start and went 7 2/3 innings, struck out 12, and allowed two hits and one run. Memphis has not announced a starter for Thursday's game against the Iowa Cubs, but Mathews would be on turn to make his Triple-A debut.

The emergence of Mathews in the minors could present an interesting decision that needs to be made for the Cardinals' front office this off-season. Both Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson have club options for next year at $12 million per, and each starter has been good, but not great in 2024. Lynn has been slightly better than league average, and Gibson has eaten some innings while being slightly below average, but the Cardinals could decide not to pick up one of those options and spend that money elsewhere while at the same time perhaps getting a boost in the rotation with the addition of Mathews.

The one problem with that plan is that Mathews may not be ready for The Show by the beginning of next season. The Cardinals have been upping the number of starts he makes at each level ever so slightly, and with the southpaw needing nine turns on the bump in Double-A, we're likely looking at at least 10 in Triple-A before he gets called up.

With a start this week, he would also collect three more the rest of the Triple-A season, giving him four in total. That could be enough of a showcase for St. Louis to make that decision heading into next season, but they may also want him to spend another six to eight weeks in the minors at the beginning of 2025 before ultimately bringing him up, too.