The St. Louis Cardinals’ No. 10 prospect Michael McGreevy will finish the season with the Big Leage Club. He will come out of the bullpen in what could be an early audition to join the Cardinals 2025 rotation.
Former Cardinals First Round Pick Gets Another Chance In Big Leagues
Two Appearances, Two wins
McGreevy made his first appearance with the Cardinals on July 31st in a pinch start. He went seven innings giving up just one run to the Texas Rangers. He was immediately sent back down to Triple A after the start, a move that was expected.
“I knew what my job was when I did get called up, so I wasn’t expecting anything more,” McGreevy told Bally Sports Midwest this week.
McGreevy continued to focus on work with the Memphis Redbirds. This week, when veteran pitcher Lance Lynn was placed on the IL, effectively ending the 37-year-old’s season, McGreevy was called up in a corresponding move.
2021 first-round pick McGreevy will pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season, something he hasn’t done since college at UC Santa Barbara. He came on in the seventh inning against the Pittsburg Pirates on Wednesday with the Cardinals down 5-4. The 24-year-old right hander pitched three innings scoreless innings and picked up the win on the way to a 10-5 victory.
The result lowered his ERA to .90 after two appearances and 10 innings pitched. The experience in the Big Leagues has given him confidence.
“My stuff can play in the zone here at the Big-League level,” McGreevy said. “That gave me the confidence, no matter what inning I go into, it’s like my stuff is good enough to get guys out. Just go and attack guys, and especially when you have the lead just go attack, attack, attack.”
A Strong Season In Triple A
In 2024 McGreevy made 27 starts with the Redbirds, earning a 9-8 record with a 4.02 ERA. Three of those 27 starts were complete games for McGreevy.
McGreevy is an off-speed pitcher who shows strong command of the strike zone. He averaged less than three walks per nine innings this season in Triple A. That allows him to pitch deep into games. He racked up 12 quality starts with the Redbirds in 2024, and one with the Cardinals in his only start.
While McGreevy doesn’t specialize in strikeouts, he does keep the ball on the ground and in the park. He only surrendered 14 home runs in 150 innings pitched with Memphis this season. His WHIP in Triple A was 1.31 this season.
Adding Another Pitch In 2024
A strong point of emphasis for McGreevy this season was the addition of his cutter. McGreevy’s top pitches are his sinking fastball and his slider. The fastball reaches the low 90’s mph, and the slider is in the mid 80’s. Cardinals development leaders wanted him to add a cutter this season and it has become a strong weapon of his, particularly against left-handed batters.
“Early on in the season we just really had to hammer it and trust it and just say ‘hey we’ve got to trust the development.’ It really came off to a slow start there, but over time it started to click and that’s what we’re seeing there,” McGreevy told Bally Sports Midwest this week.
In just two MLB appearances, his cutter has a 37.5 whiff percentage. McGreevy has deployed it exclusively against left-handed bats in those appearances. McGreevy also has a curveball and a changeup he’ll deploy to keep batters on their toes.
A Chance For The 2025 Starting Rotation
The Cardinals want to get a head start on evaluating McGreevy in the Big Leagues. He is one of many promising young arms the organization has that appear on the cusp of being MLB ready. The late-September run is one that McGreevy is excited to have.
“Experience is everything. If you can take as much as you can out of this final stretch, and not trying to look too far ahead, but use that for next year then you’re just in a much better spot than anybody else,” McGreevy said after his three-inning outing against the Pirates.
The Cardinals have the fourth oldest starting rotation in Baseball. Lynn and 36-year-old Kyle Gibson have a team option for their 2025 contract. 35-year-old Miles Mikolas, 32-year-old Erick Fedde, and 33-year-old Steven Matz are entering the final year of their deal in 2025. Sonny Gray still has several years on his deal. Andre Pallante has made a strong case to stay in the starting rotation next season.
It’s not hard to imagine several starting rotation positions being up for grabs come Spring Training of 2025. If the Cardinals look to the youth they have in their pitching ranks, McGreevy has positioned himself to be one of the first to get a shot.
Main Photo Credits: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
