Quinn Mathews experienced a remarkable surge in his career during 2024, possibly earning him a spot in the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation for 2025.
“Just look at how rapidly he has climbed the ranks as a prospect,” said John Mozeliak, President of Baseball Operations, in an interview with Joey Schneider from Yahoo.com. “He possesses that swing-and-miss capability, which is currently highly valued in our sport. I believe he has a strong belief in his abilities, and I think he has unlimited potential.”
The tall and slender left-handed pitcher recorded 202 strikeouts last year, leading all minor league pitchers. Mathews and current Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt are the only minor leaguers to reach 200 or more strikeouts in the last 13 years, with Pfaadt striking out 218 in 2022.
Mathews achieved this feat over four levels, finishing with an 8-5 record and a 2.76 ERA in 26 starts. Moving up from Low-A Palm Beach to High-A Peoria and then to Double-A Springfield, he was nearly untouchable, posting an 8-3 record, a 2.27 ERA, 180 strikeouts, and allowing just 73 hits over 126 2/3 innings.
However, a challenging end to the season at Triple-A Memphis, where he went 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA in four starts, slightly affected his overall statistics. Nonetheless, Baseball America recognized the 6-foot-5, 210-pound pitcher as its 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and MLB.com listed him as the top pitching prospect.
Mathews experienced an increase in his walk rate while his other statistics declined at Triple-A. He explained that this was due to fatigue and mentioned that he has been focusing on enhancing his endurance during the winter. “The length of the season took a toll on me,” he stated. “So now, the challenge is figuring out how to stretch my body to sustain an additional seven or eight weeks.”
A rigorous training program from the previous year contributed to Mathews’ success in 2024. He improved his diet, worked out intensively, and increased his fastball velocity by approximately three miles per hour. This speed boost enhanced the effectiveness of his changeup and breaking pitches.
His four-pitch repertoire was impressive, with his fastball averaging 94 mph, which he threw over 50 percent of the time. He garnered most of his strikeouts with an 81-mph changeup and an 85-mph slider, occasionally using a 77-mph curveball about 10 percent of the time.
“Last off-season, my focus was on increasing velocity since that was a criticism I faced for a long time due to my lack of speed,” Mathews explained. “Velocity is great, and it certainly helps, but it doesn’t necessarily make you a great pitcher.”
Scouts indicate that Mathews’ success isn’t solely due to the speed of his fastball, but rather its movement. They also appreciate the sinking action of his changeup and the sweeping motion of his sharp slider.
A standout moment for Mathews came during a memorable game at Stanford. In an elimination match against Texas in the 2023 NCAA Super Regional, he struck out 16 batters and walked one while throwing 156 pitches in an 8-3 victory.
Mathews finished his senior year with a record of 10-4, bringing his overall record at Stanford to 25-10. He was selected by St. Louis in the fourth round, 122nd overall, and received a signing bonus of $ 600,000. After completing 124 innings with the Cardinal in college, the professional Cardinals decided to shut him down for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Since the MLB Draft started in 1965, only 17 players picked at No. 122 have reached the major leagues. Among them are current standout pitchers Jordan Montgomery, drafted by the New York Yankees in 2014, and Shane Bieber, selected by the Cleveland Indians in 2016.
For fourth-round picks made by St. Louis, 22 out of 61 have made it to the MLB. Notably, the standout was legendary catcher and likely Hall of Famer Yadier Molina, who was drafted in 2000. In 1999, the Cardinals picked left-handed pitcher Bud Smith, who became the 18th rookie to throw a no-hitter in the majors just two years later, though he finished his career with a 7-8 record.
Betting on Himself
Earlier this month, Mathews shared that, unlike many boys his age, he didn’t aspire to be a professional athlete. “I actually wanted to be an investment banker,” he said. “I was definitely a bit of an odd kid in that respect.
“One of my childhood best friends would say, ‘We’re going to be investment bankers, move to New York, live that lifestyle, and work 80-90 hours a week.’ That sounded appealing to me.”
Nowadays, Mathews closely follows trends in cryptocurrency, although he mentioned that his mother advised against investing his entire signing bonus in that area.
Looking Ahead Mathews will have the opportunity to showcase his skills during spring training, but unless he truly excels, it’s likely he’ll return to Memphis. If he demonstrates improvement similar to his breakout 2024 season, there could be a spot for him in St. Louis’ rotation.
Veteran right-handers Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, and Andre Pallante are set for the first four rotation spots. Lefties Steven Matz and Drew Rom are expected to compete with right-hander Mike McGreevy for the fifth position.
Quinn Mathews has the opportunity to secure a spot with a standout performance during training camp or in the early part of the season.
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