Tinker Card: How McGreevy is navigating around a dip in velo

The Cardinals may not have a traditional veteran ace atop their rotation, but Michael McGreevy has pitched like one this year. All he’s done is win at the Major League level, and that has helped propel the Cardinals to their exciting 25-18 start.

McGreevy made his 30th Major League appearance on Thursday, spinning six innings of one-run ball before the Cardinals completed a ninth-inning comeback to earn a 5-4 victory over the Athletics. The Cardinals are 21-9 in games McGreevy has pitched since he debuted in 2024.

At 25 years old, McGreevy carries a quiet confidence beyond his years. He rarely seems rattled on the mound, and when the competition rises, so does his game.

During the month of May, the Cardinals have won McGreevy's starts vs. the Dodgers, Padres and A’s as he held the three clubs to one run over a combined 18 innings.

In a season where the Cardinals are empowering their young talent to forge the next era of Redbird baseball, McGreevy has run with his opportunity. Through nine starts he is sporting a 2.10 ERA, the 11th-best mark among qualified starters.

For someone who doesn’t boast overwhelming strikeout stuff, McGreevy has been masterful at limiting baserunners, posting the fourth-best WHIP (0.88) and tying for the 10th-best opponents' batting average (.189) with the Mets' Nolan McLean.

Those numbers are even more impressive considering McGreevy is working through a dip in velocity. McGreevy’s fastball is averaging 91.4 mph this season, down 1.6 mph from his average velocity in 2025. And yet, he’s made the most of the pitch. Between his four-seamer and his sinker, McGreevy ranks in the 97th percentile in fastball run value (eight), a testament to his pinpoint execution.

One example of that came in the sixth inning on Thursday against Nick Kurtz. McGreevy threw five straight breaking balls and offspeed pitches to work a 3-2 count against the left-handed hitter. Normally, McGreevy is careful attacking lefties, especially one with Kurtz’s power. But with the sixth pitch of the at-bat, he located a sinker on the inside part of the strike zone, freezing Kurtz for McGreevy’s third strikeout of the day.

McGreevy doesn’t spend much time worrying about when his velocity will return. He gauges how his stuff is playing that day, and then decides how to attack hitters from there.

“While velo isn’t everything -- and it’s been great being able to be a pitcher and make sure that’s not the thing that’s hurting me. ... If you know what you have that day, you know how you can play,” McGreevy told the Dealin’ the Cards podcast prior to his start against the A’s. “Last year against the Mets when I came up, I was touching 96 [mph], I was sitting 95. It’s, ‘Hey, today I could probably blow the heater by some guys. Let’s use that and go off with that.'

"Against the Padres, the first inning felt good. Couple 93's, couple 94's. So we’re starting to see the climb back again. It’s 'OK, let’s be smart. Let’s slow that down a little bit, then this 92, 93 mile per hour fastball is going to feel like 95, 96.' So you just pick and choose when and where you do it.”

Strike-throwing, sequencing, limiting damage and competing with every pitch: Sounds like the modern version of an old-school Cardinals starter.

McGreevy came into Spring Training with a sprained ankle, and while he pitched through it, McGreevy believes that over time it messed with his mechanics, leading to that dip in velocity. The more he’s able to recapture that, the better his fastball will play -- and the more dynamic some of his other pitches become.

McGreevy has found a new weapon this year in his changeup, upping the pitch's usage by 11% from last year. The pitch generated eight whiffs against the Padres and may be the key to suppressing damage from left-handed hitters that have given him trouble in his young career.

McGreevy will continue to tinker with his seven-pitch arsenal, and as he keeps finding ways to unlock himself on the mound, he’ll continue to set the Cardinals up to win ballgames every fifth day.