Quinn

Mathews

Mathews didn’t look completely untouchable for the first time in months as he made his highly-anticipated Triple-A debut on Friday evening, firing 89 pitches (54 strikes) over four frames. He was a bit all over the map from a control standpoint, handing out three free passes, but still managed to approach double-digit strikeouts. The 23-year-old southpaw has blazed through three minor league levels to reach the doorstep of the majors and looks like he’s going to miss enough bats to make a real impact for fantasy managers once he arrives in the big leagues.

Mathews’ meteoric rise continues as he receives a promotion to the doorstep of the majors after a dominant nine-start run at Double-A Springfield. The 23-year-old southpaw, who was selected in the fourth round of last year’s MLB Draft, has added a couple ticks of fastball velocity this season and been a windmill factory across three level this season in the minors, posting a surreal 2.27 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 180/35 K/BB ratio across 126 2/3 innings (22 starts). It’s probably time for the Cardinals to see Mathews at the highest level, but considering they’re nearly 10 games out in the NL Wild Card race heading into September, that might not happen.

Here’s an oversimplification: Mathews has looked like one of the best pitching prospects in baseball for a couple months now, compiling a stellar 0.70 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and 40/4 K/BB ratio across four starts since August 6. The hard-throwing 23-year-old southpaw generated 24 swinging strikes and allowed just three baserunners while working into the eighth inning of this one. At this point, it’s probably worth it for the Cardinals to see how he fares at the highest level. He’s long gone in competitive dynasty leagues, but is worthy of a speculative stash in deeper re-draft formats.

Mathews has rapidly evolved into one of the top pitching prospects in baseball this season, thanks in large part to a massive uptick in velocity. The 23-year-old southpaw has been magnificent this season, compiling an absurd 2.52 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 158/40 K/BB ratio across 124 2/3 innings (19 starts) across three minor league levels. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get the call to Triple-A before the season wraps up.