Cardinals Rotation Grades: Kyle Leahy Rising, Matthew Liberatore Crashing

The St. Louis Cardinals have some work to do in the starting rotation.

Sep 11, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore (32) throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't made the postseason since 2022 and that trend will continue in 2026.

St. Louis is 7 1/2 games out of a Wild Card spot right now and the clock is ticking. The Cardinals' elimination number is down to four with 11 games left to go. Now, of course, the expectation heading into the 2026 season wasn't that the Cardinals were going to be in the postseason. The Cardinals have outperformed the low expectations in their first year of this rebuild under Chaim Bloom, but there is a lot of room for growth, for example, in the starting rotation.

The Cardinals have done a great job adding pitching prospects to the system by trading veterans away, like Brendan Donovan, but there's more work to do in the big leagues itself. With that being said, let's grade the Cardinals' starters from the 2026 season to this point.

Michael McGreey — B+

Sep 13, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael McGreevy (36) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last year, McGreevy made 17 appearances in the majors and had a 4.42 ERA in 95 2/3 innings pitched. This year, he has been significantly better. McGreevy has made 29 starts and he has a 3.83 ERA in 160 innings pitched. McGreevy was red-hot across the first few months of the season. He had a 2.92 ERA after 19 starts in mid-July. Over his last 10 starts, he has a 5.71 ERA. That's the only thing keeping him out of the "A" range.

Kyle Leahy — A

Sep 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy (62) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Leahy has gracefully transitioned from the bullpen to the starting rotation. The very beginning of the season was a bit rocky in his first few appearances, but he turned his season around and is leading the staff with a 3.33 ERA in 28 starts. Simply put, you can't ask for much more out of him. He has been a bright spot.

Andre Pallante — A

Sep 9, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Andre Pallante (53) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the second inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pallante had a tough 2025 season and finished the campaign with a 5.31 ERA in 31 starts. This year has been a completely different story. Pallante has a 3.45 ERA in 26 starts. A great year and a great bounce-back.

Matthew Liberatore — D

Sep 5, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore (32) reacts after a wild pitch scores a run for the Colorado Rockies during the fifth inning at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It has been the toughest year of Liberatore's career to this point. He was the Cardinals' Opening Day starter and a few months later, he's sitting with a 5.53 ERA in 29 starts. A disaster of a season, to say the least.

Quinn Mathews — A- (Although This Is Early)

Sep 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Quinn Mathews (60) throws against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Mathews has made just seven starts in the big leagues, but he has looked the part so far. He has a 3.62 ERA in his young big league career across 37 1/3 innings of work. His ERA is skewed by one bad outing in which he allowed seven runs in five innings on Aug. 22. Outside of that, he hasn't allowed more than two runs in a single start.

Dustin May — A+

Sep 11, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dustin May (21) walks off the field at the end of the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dustin May is no longer a member of the Cardinals, but he was everything the club could've hoped for. May made 21 starts and logged a 4.38 ERA in 109 innings pitched. That's not the most important thing, though. When the Cardinals signed May, there was buzz that he would be a good trade deadline chip. He wasn't just a good trade chip, he was a great one. The Cardinals traded May and JoJo Romero to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for No. 4 overall prospect Alexander Frias and No. 11 prospect Josiah Ragsdale. Frias is an 18-year-old prospect with Class-A Palm Beach. So far this season, he has 10 homers, 73 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 86 total games this year.

Ragsdale is a 22-year-old outfield prospect who very well could end up being the center fielder for the Cardinals as soon as 2027 or 2028. He has 24 homers, 65 RBIs and 37 stolen bases in 116 games down in the minors this season. May was good on the mound for the Cardinals, but his biggest impact will be the addition of these two prospects.