Scouting Report

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

Mautz spent the first two years of his career at the University of San Diego largely pitching out of the bullpen, though he did make five starts in 2021. He pitched well, again in a relief role, in the Northwoods League last summer, but has taken a huge step forward with a move into the rotation, serving as a very effective Saturday starter for the Toreros in 2022.

The 6-foot-4 left-hander has always had swing-and-miss stuff, but has stepped it up to an entirely different level this spring. His fastball sits in the low 90s more often than not and has topped out at 95 mph as a starter this year, though he’s been up to 96-97 mph in shorter stints in the past. Coming from a very deceptive three-quarters arm slot with excellent arm speed, the pitch features a ton of sink and hard, running life, getting a lot of ground-ball outs along with missing bats. He tunnels his low-80s slider off of his fastball very well, a big reason for his huge strikeout rate, as hitters don’t see it well and he gets them to chase the pitch frequently. He doesn’t throw his changeup much, but it’s shown enough action to fool hitters at times.

More than anything, it’s been Mautz’s ability to find the strike zone much more consistently that has led to his success. He’s cut his walk rate by more than half this spring, and while there is some concern about his unorthodox delivery, he’s been repeating it and the new strike-throwing ability provides more hope he can start at the next level.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Mautz didn’t become a full-time starter at the University of San Diego until his junior year but was good enough in 2022 to push into the second round, where the Cardinals took him and signed him for $1.1 million. He has steadily climbed one level per season from Single-A in 2023 to Double-A in '25, and it was with Springfield last year that he enjoyed his best professional campaign yet. Mautz was a Texas League All-Star with his 2.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings, and the Cardinals protected him from the Rule 5 Draft with a spot on the 40-man roster in November.

The 6-foot-3 left-hander throws from a low three-quarters slot that gives him a little deception and a flat angle on his fastball. The heater came with some extra velocity in Mautz’s age-23 season and sat in the 91-95 mph range, and even with that increase, he still commanded it well to stave off hard contact. His mid-80s slider gets good depth that leads to some truly ugly swings from batters from both sides, but especially lefties. Mautz can work in an upper-70s curveball with slurvy tendencies too, and he barely used a mid-80s changeup.

That lack of an armside weapon could be an issue as Mautz heads to Triple-A and beyond. For now, his control has actually improved at each stop up the St. Louis chain, and he’s surpassed the 100-inning mark in each of his three seasons. That combination of durability and effectiveness should keep him on St. Louis’ starting depth chart, but his upside is limited to the back end of a rotation. The fastball-slider mix would work in a relief setting if he can’t break in as a starter.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Mautz moved from the University of San Diego bullpen to its rotation as a junior with enough results to catapult him into the second round of the 2022 Draft, where he signed for below slot at $1.1 million. He’s moved up exactly one level per season since with stops at Single-A Palm Beach (2023), High-A Peoria (2024) and Double-A Springfield and a stint in the Arizona Fall League mixed in last year. His results seemed to hit a wall in the Midwest League, but the former Torero has bounced back nicely in his age-23 season.

Throwing from a low three-quarters slot, the 6-foot-3 southpaw has added some velocity with Springfield and now is in the 91-95 mph range with enough ride to get decent whiffs. His slider has long been his best pitch with good depth to play off that heater and generate misses, and he’s added a cutter to keep righties off-balance. His mid-80s changeup has shown improved movement in recent years but still doesn’t miss many bats, making another option necessary against opposite-side bats. He can also flip in a 79-81 mph curveball to steal strikes.

Even with the added velocity, Mautz’s control has steadily improved throughout his time in pro ball, and he has enough pitches in his arsenal to keep getting starting looks. The Cardinals tried him out in the bullpen in the AFL (in part because he already had plenty of innings from the summer), and he still might profile best there if splits against righties become more of an issue at higher levels. His 2025 trajectory has still reinforced his place in St. Louis’ pitching pipeline. 

Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40 

After two years in relief, Mautz moved into a starting role at the University of San Diego in 2022 and thrived with a 3.87 ERA, 129 strikeouts and only 22 walks in 90 2/3 innings. The Cardinals selected him in the second round that July and signed him for below slot at $1.1 million. Mautz threw 104 innings in his first full season, but all of them came at Single-A Palm Beach, where he finished with a 3.98 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 115 strikeouts. 

The 6-foot-3 left-hander was 89-93 mph with his pair of fastballs, using both a four-seamer and a sinker. He could get 15-17 inches of horizontal movement with those heaters, and the sinker in particular helped him run a 49.5 percent ground-ball rate that was 13th-best in the Florida State League (among hurlers with at least 50 innings). His 78-82 mph slider remains his best pitch -- a two-plane breaker that can be hard to pick out of his deceptive slot -- and it dropped below the zone to get significant chase in 2023. His mid-80s changeup flashes promise with similar horizontal movement to the sinker but it's generally too firm, and per Statcast, he didn’t throw it all in August or September. Mautz also has an upper-70s curveball with more drop and sweep than the slider, and he picked up usage of that as the year wore on.  

The former Torero was better at limiting walks in college, as he worked with a 9.9 percent walk rate with Palm Beach. He would make for an interesting relief candidate with the slider, but that decision might be at least another year away.  

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

Mautz was primarily a reliever in his first two years at the University of San Diego, and that bullpen work extended to a stint in the Northwoods League in the summer of 2021. He joined the Toreros as a junior and thrived in the role, posting a 3.87 ERA with 129 strikeouts and only 29 walks in 90 2/3 innings. He allowed only one run on four hits in seven innings against Vanderbilt in the NCAA regionals. St. Louis certainly took notice and selected the southpaw in the second round in July, thus plugging him into its impressive pitching development pipeline.

The 6-foot-3 left-hander has worked up to 96-97 mph in shorter stints but sat more in the low 90s with his fastball as a starter. Still, the previous velo gives hope that the Cardinals could squeeze more out of him as he works his way toward the Majors. The running life on the fastball helps it get whiffs and ground balls at solid rates, so it plays at its current velocity too. Arguably his best pitch is a low-80s sweeping slider that tunnels well off the heater and is difficult to pick out of his deceptive three-quarters arm slot. He didn’t throw his mid-80s changeup enough in college, though it flashed some decent action at times.

Mautz’s strike-throwing greatly improved as he moved to a starting role, and that solidified the thinking that he could stick to larger workloads in the pro game. The fastball and slider would still work well if he needs to fall back to relief, giving him a solid floor as well.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Mautz spent the first two years of his collegiate career mostly pitching out of the University of San Diego bullpen, though he did make five starts in 2021. He pitched well, again in a relief role, in the Northwoods League last summer, but took a huge step forward with a move into the rotation, serving as a very effective Saturday starter for the Toreros in 2022. The Cardinals took notice and selected the left-hander in the second round in July.

The 6-foot-4 left-hander has always had swing-and-miss stuff, but has stepped it up to an entirely different level this spring. His fastball sits in the low 90s more often than not and has topped out at 95 mph as a starter this year, though he’s been up to 96-97 mph in shorter stints in the past. Coming from a very deceptive three-quarters arm slot with excellent arm speed, the pitch features a ton of sink and hard, running life, getting a lot of ground-ball outs along with missing bats. He tunnels his low-80s slider off of his fastball very well, a big reason for his huge strikeout rate, as hitters don’t see it well and he gets them to chase the pitch frequently. He doesn’t throw his changeup much, but it’s shown enough action to fool hitters at times.

More than anything, it’s been Mautz’s ability to find the strike zone much more consistently that has led to his success. He cut his walk rate by more than half this spring, and while there is some concern about his unorthodox delivery, he’s been repeating it and the new strike-throwing ability provides more hope he can start at the next level.

Awards

TEX Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2025

TEX Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
08/10/2025
04/20/2025

TEX Pitcher of the Month

Month	Team
07/2025

FSL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
07/30/2023
04/23/2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/27/2026	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Memphis Redbirds from Springfield Cardinals.
	03/23/2026	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Springfield Cardinals from Memphis Redbirds.
	03/09/2026	St. Louis Cardinals optioned LHP Brycen Mautz to Memphis Redbirds.
	03/05/2026	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to St. Louis Cardinals Prospects.
	11/18/2025	St. Louis Cardinals selected the contract of LHP Brycen Mautz from Springfield Cardinals.
	11/18/2025	St. Louis Cardinals activated LHP Brycen Mautz.
	05/30/2025	Springfield Cardinals activated LHP Brycen Mautz from the 7-day injured list.
	05/20/2025	Springfield Cardinals placed LHP Brycen Mautz on the 7-day injured list.
	03/31/2025	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Springfield Cardinals from Peoria Chiefs.
	02/25/2025	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to St. Louis Cardinals.
	09/25/2024	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Glendale Desert Dogs.
	04/03/2024	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Peoria Chiefs.
	03/07/2024	St. Louis Cardinals Prospects activated LHP Brycen Mautz.
	03/01/2024	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to St. Louis Cardinals.
	04/05/2023	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals from FCL Cardinals.
	04/05/2023	Palm Beach Cardinals activated LHP Brycen Mautz.
	03/06/2023	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to FCL Cardinals from Cardinals Organization.
	02/27/2023	LHP Brycen Mautz roster status changed by St. Louis Cardinals.
	02/27/2023	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to St. Louis Cardinals.
	08/16/2022	LHP Brycen Mautz assigned to Cardinals Organization.
	07/22/2022	St. Louis Cardinals signed LHP Brycen Mautz.