Following his ‘phenomenal’ performance, Mathews, a Cards prospect, was sent to the Minors.
NEWS FLASH: The St. Louis Cardinals have officially agreed to a contract to hire a new head coach in Jupiter, Florida. The Cardinals were as impressed by Quinn Mathews’ intense competitiveness and his incredible work on the mound over the last three weeks as they were by the way the analytical left-hander approached the game and how he had already developed a plan to get better in his pursuit of a big league career.
After Mathews was sent to the team’s Minor League camp on Sunday, the Cards said goodbye to him. But if all goes according to plan in the upcoming weeks and months, the two parties may re-connect at the Major League Baseball level.
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After being reassigned, Mathews, who was named the 2024 Minor League Pitching Prospect of the Year after striking out 202 batters in four minor league levels, cleaned out his locker in the big league clubhouse of the Cards and put on a Minor League uniform on Sunday. The 24-year-old lefty, ranked No. 45 overall by MLB Pipeline, was reassigned to the Cardinals’ Minor League camp when Spring Training starts became more limited.
Mathews did, however, do an exit interview with manager Oliver Marmol, bench coach Daniel Descalso, pitching coach Dusty Blake, and bullpen coach Julio Rangel before to moving to the Minor League side of the clubhouse to talk about his experiences working with other big league players. The Cards purposefully positioned Mathews’ locker next to that of experienced right-hander Sonny Gray so that Mathews could see Gray’s extremely subtle work in between starts and the two could naturally discuss pitching. Marmol is certain that Mathews’ experience in major league camp will significantly contribute to his growth in the upcoming season.
Marmol praised Mathews, who pitched two shutout innings against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, saying, “He did a phenomenal job.” It was fantastic, even during his last meeting before moving into Minor League camp. He talks about what he took out of camp, and it’s always wonderful from a routine perspective for these young men to see it mirrored here. ‘Man, there’s another entire level of preparation that I need to dig into,’ is their first thought.
He explained that he had a pattern for both playing catch and getting ready for his bullpen, in addition to having a schedule for a game. He’s already good, and there are places where he can get better, so there’s a lot of room to dedicate himself to that.
Mathews was grateful that the Cardinals placed him next to Gray in the clubhouse so he could pick up tips from the staff ace. Mathews practiced a start on the back fields at Roger Dean Stadium on Sunday. Working his way into an MLB clubhouse, something Mathews had dreamed of since he was a young boy, was also a dream came true for him.
He is able to continue starting every fifth day.
For me, it’s different since I grew up watching a lot of these players play. Mathews said, “I had seen Sonny pitch for the A’s and I had seen Nolan [Arenado] play at Coors [Field].” I was attempting to learn as much as I could from Sonny. I’ve attempted to get one or two [questions] out of him, but I try not to overwhelm him because I know I can be a lot, especially with too many questions. Why not choose the best brain? He is among the best at what he does, and that’s the level I’m aiming for.
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