Mathews headlines an eye-catching night for Cardinals pitching prospects

Scoring against starters in the Cardinals system proved to be quite the challenge on Thursday night.

From the 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year to a trio of 22-year-olds -- all of whom are ranked on the club's Top 30 Prospects list, the young pitchers struck out 31 while giving up three total earned runs on seven hits in 21 combined innings.

• Get tickets to a Minor League game near you »

Here’s a recap of their four starts:

Triple-A Memphis: Quinn Mathews, LHP (STL No. 6)
Mathews turned in the best start of his 2026 campaign thus far, allowing just a single hit -- the only one given up by Memphis' staff -- for the eighth time in his career.

The 25-year-old southpaw tallied the second-most swings-and-misses on the night at Triple-A with 16. Mathews topped out at 96.4 mph and set season highs in innings (six) and strikeouts (nine) in the 2-0 win over Louisville at AutoZone Park.

St. Louis selected the left-hander in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft. He’s put together a solid professional career so far to the tune of a 3.38 ERA in 61 starts in the Cardinals’ system.

Double-A Springfield: Liam Doyle, LHP (STL No. 1/MLB No. 22)
Doyle notched his first professional victory as he delivered his second straight quality start, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six over five frames in Springfield's 6-4 win over Frisco at Riders Field.

His 15-swings-and-misses were the fourth-most at Double-A on the day for the fifth overall pick in the 2025 Draft. Doyle, who turned 22 this week, became the Cardinals' top prospect after earning SEC Pitcher of the Year honors with Tennessee last year.

High-A Peoria: Tanner Franklin, RHP (STL No. 10)
Franklin also joined the double-digit swing-and-miss club with 12 whiffs across 5⅓ frames for Peoria. He allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk while striking out seven en route to picking up the victory in the 7-1 win over Beloit at Dozer Park. It was the third time this year he fanned at least seven in a start.

St. Louis picked up Franklin with the 72nd pick in last year's Draft. He made his professional bow with Single-A Palm Beach and finished the year with two more starts for the Chiefs. Opposing batters only hit .190 against him in that small six-inning sampling.

Single-A Palm Beach: Cade Crossland, LHP (STL No. 23)
The southpaw was almost untouchable in his latest outing, notching a career-high nine strikeouts with 16 swings-and-misses. He allowed just one hit and four walks over 4⅓ innings in Palm Beach's 3-0 win over Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

St. Louis selected the lefty in the fourth round of the 2025 Draft out of Oklahoma.