3 players STL Cardinals need to call up from Triple-A to shake things up

STL Cardinals rumors: Matthew Liberatore deserves another major-league shot

The bats have become a more concerning problem for the St. Louis Cardinals lately but the bigger issue over the 10-17 start has been the pitching. Their 4.49 team ERA this season ranks just 22nd in baseball. More importantly, the rotation has struggled mightily as they are tied for 25th in Quality Starts this season with just five out of 27 games.

Obviously, St. Louis is awaiting the soon-coming return of Adam Wainwright, which should help. But the truth of the matter is that three of the team’s current starters — Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz and Jake Woodford — all have ERAs of 5.47 or higher this season. Meanwhile, Jordan Montgomery leads the team’s starters with a 3.81 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, which are fine numbers, but not exactly what you want as the best in the rotation.

Put simply, the Cardinals need more than just Wainwright to give the pitching staff a boost and one of the team’s top prospects, Matthew Liberatore, could be the answer.

Liberatore made his anticipated major-league debut with nine appearances and seven starts last season, a venture that didn’t go all too well. He went just 2-2 with a 5.97 ERA and 1.73 WHIP while opponents hit .304 with five home runs against him and as he struck out just 28 batters while walking 18 over 34.2 innings pitched.

With Memphis this season, though, Liberatore is making his case for another shot. He’s 3-1 through his first five starts with a 2.60 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, striking out 36 batters with only nine walks over 27.2 innings.

Yes, his first go at the big-league level didn’t work out well. But given the struggles of the pitching staff to this point, calling him up and giving him another shot based on how well he’s pitched in Triple-A to this point would be worthwhile for St. Louis to explore.