Scouting Report

Video scouting report »

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

After spending the shortened 2020 season and full 2021 campaign largely pitching out of Stanford’s rotation, Mathews threw well in a four-start stint in the Cape Cod League in 2021. He followed that up by pitching well as a swingman/multi-inning reliever last year, landing on MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 250 list. The Rays took him close to the end of the Draft, and Matthews returned to campus for his senior year, where he’s been effective as the Cardinals' Friday night starter.

The 6-foot-5 left-hander brings four pitches and plenty of funk and deception to the mound. He can dial his fastball up to 94 mph, and it averages just over 91 mph, but his best pitch is his low 80s changeup, which features a ton of fade to both miss bats and get ground-ball outs. He throws his tight slider around the same velocity, and he also has a slower low-70s curve with three-quarter shape to it. 

The long and lanky southpaw has done a better job of finding the strike zone compared to last year while continuing to post high strikeout rates and certainly raised his profile with a string of strong postseason starts. His ceiling might be somewhat limited to a back-end starter, with teams considering him knowing that he knows how to get outs coming out of the bullpen.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Mathews made plenty of headlines last spring when he threw 156 pitches for Stanford in a Super Regionals matchup against Texas, but it was an interesting road to get to that point. The southpaw was used mostly as a swingman for the Cardinal as a junior in 2022, posting a 3.08 ERA in 99 1/3 innings, and landed on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 list. The Rays selected him in the 19th round, but he chose to head back to school. He became Stanford’s Friday night workhorse with 124 2/3 innings and ranked second in the county with 158 strikeouts, trailing only Paul Skenes (209). The Cardinals selected Mathews in the fourth round and signed him for $600,000. 

Standing in at a skinny 6-foot-5, Mathews averaged only 91.6 mph with his fastball in his final season on campus but saw that velocity average jump to 94.8, touching as high as 97.3, during his early season spin through the Florida State League. That’s enough heat to make his four-seamer a true weapon at all levels. His best weapon is a 79-81 mph changeup with 12-13 inches of horizontal break; it’s a real brake-screecher that keeps right-handers honest. His tight mid-80s slider can also get whiffs, and a mid-70s, two-plane curveball has been a better option on the pro side too.

Mathews’ control improved as a senior and helped him to work so deeply into games. (He notably walked only one and struck out 16 in that epic against the Longhorns.) His college usage sprung a million debates, and he won’t have any 150-pitch outings in the pros. Plugged into St. Louis’ pitching development system, Mathews has already climbed three levels to Double-A, thanks to his velo gains, and he’s on his way to being more than just a backend rotation option.

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

After spending the shortened 2020 season and full 2021 campaign largely pitching out of Stanford’s rotation, Mathews threw well in a four-start stint in the Cape Cod League in 2021. He followed that up by pitching well as a swingman/multi-inning reliever last year, landing on MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 250 list. The Rays took him close to the end of the Draft, and Matthews returned to campus for his senior year, where he was effective as the Cardinal's Friday night starter and notably threw 156 pitches in a Super Regionals matchup against Texas. The Cardinals selected the left-hander in the fourth round and signed him for a little over slot at $600,000.

The 6-foot-5 hurler brings four pitches and plenty of funk and deception to the mound. He can dial his fastball up to 94 mph, and it averages just over 91 mph, but his best pitch is his low-80s changeup, which features a ton of fade to both miss bats and get ground-ball outs. He throws his tight slider around the same velocity, and he also has a slower low-70s curve with three-quarter shape to it. 

The long and lanky southpaw has done a better job of finding the strike zone compared to last year while continuing to post high strikeout rates and certainly raised his profile with a string of strong postseason starts. His ceiling might be somewhat limited to a back-end starter, but it might not take him long to reach that either.

Video scouting report »

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

The main attraction at Stanford for scouts this spring has undoubtedly been outfielder Brock Jones, who has the chance to go on Day 1 of the Draft. If they were lucky, they also got to evaluate Mathews, a left-hander who has been very effective as a swingman/multi-inning reliever after showing off his stuff during a four-start stint in the Cape Cod League last summer.

Tall and lanky, Mathews brings a four-pitch mix that plays up with funk and deception. He’ll throw his fastball anywhere in the 89- to 94-mph range, typically sitting around 91. His changeup is his best secondary offering, featuring two-plane fade while missing a lot of bats and getting ground-ball outs. His 80- to 83-mph slider has tight darting movement and he’ll fold in a slower 73- to 75-mph curve with three-quarter shape to it.

While Mathews has a very healthy strikeout rate, he’s also struggled at times to find the strike zone, carrying a walk rate of around four per nine innings during his college career. A team taking him could send him out as a starter and seeing if he can refine his command, knowing that he understands how to get outs out of the bullpen. Whatever his role, he has a good chance of being just the third Stanford lefty to go in the top 10 rounds in the past five Drafts.

Awards

TEX Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2024

Baseball America Minor League All-Star

Year	Team
2024

TEX Pitcher of the Month

Month	Team
08/2024

Futures Game Selection

Year	Team
2024

MID Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
06/02/2024

FSL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
04/28/2024
04/14/2024

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/28/2024	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to Memphis Redbirds from Springfield Cardinals.
	07/15/2024	Springfield Cardinals activated LHP Quinn Mathews.
	07/14/2024	National League Futures activated LHP Quinn Mathews.
	07/12/2024	Springfield Cardinals placed LHP Quinn Mathews on the temporarily inactive list.
	06/24/2024	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to Springfield Cardinals from Peoria Chiefs.
	05/13/2024	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to Peoria Chiefs from Palm Beach Cardinals.
	04/05/2024	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals.
	03/07/2024	St. Louis Cardinals Prospects activated LHP Quinn Mathews.
	11/14/2023	FCL Cardinals activated LHP Quinn Mathews.
	11/14/2023	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to FCL Cardinals.
	08/10/2023	LHP Quinn Mathews assigned to Cardinals Organization.
	07/16/2023	St. Louis Cardinals signed LHP Quinn Mathews.