SAN FRANCISCO -- A notable development for the Cardinals this season has been the emergence of Gordon Graceffo as a major factor in the bullpen.
And the right-hander may only be getting better.
After logging a 6.28 ERA in 26 games out of the ‘pen a year ago, Graceffo’s workload -- and efficiency -- have both increased in 2026, to the tune of a 2.70 ERA in 56 games entering play Wednesday (with one of those appearances as an opener).
Lately, it’s been a wipeout slider that’s helped Graceffo stand out among the late-game options for manager Oliver Marmol.
After first throwing the pitch on July 9, Graceffo has adopted the slider as a weapon in his arsenal. He threw it 27.3% of the time in July and 39% in August, and it’s up to 43.8% through two September outings (and has been his most-used pitch in five straight games). He only threw the slider 30 times in 756 total pitches a year ago.
Opponents are hitting just .182 against the slider, with a 36.3% whiff rate. In his past five games, that’s a .111 average and 46.9% whiff rate, with batters chasing the pitch out of the zone 32.7% of the time.
Case in point: Tuesday night against the Giants. Though St. Louis was unable to cash in on opportunities and lost, 2-1, Graceffo’s eighth inning showcased his developing skills.
The 26-year-old loaded the bases on a walk, a bloop single and a fielder’s choice, seemingly on the precipice of letting the game get truly out of hand.
Instead, Graceffo and catcher Leo Bernal reconvened and powered through the heart of the Giants’ order, resulting in strikeouts of the red-hot Rafael Devers, slugging prospect Bryce Eldridge and pinch-hitter (and contact specialist) Jung Hoo Lee.
During this sequence, Graceffo didn’t touch his curveball, which is notable since it was the pitch he threw at a 25.8% clip a year ago, compared to just 9.2% in 2026. Instead, he utilized a first-pitch changeup, two sliders and two four-seamers to whiff Devers on a check swing -- on a 95.9 mph fastball up in the zone.
Eldridge, who already homered in the game off lefty Quinn Mathews, was also fed a first-pitch change, one of three Graceffo offered up. And though two fell low for balls, they set up that slider, which Eldridge swung through twice including a strikeout on one low and inside.
To hear him tell it, Graceffo was just as focused on harnessing the changeup as he was the slider.
To hear him tell it, Graceffo was just as focused on harnessing the changeup as he was the slider.
“I just think it's been a weapon for me this year,” said Graceffo. “I think I've gotten more and more comfortable with it as the year’s gone on, and it's nice when you can throw something for a strike that's not maybe something that they're expecting. So I know I started a lot of lefties off of heaters and [now] I’m just starting them off with a changeup and stealing a strike. It's very helpful because when you get ahead, it's a whole new game.”
Starting those at-bats with first-pitch changeups for strikes fell right into the plan he had with Bernal: going to the slider late.
“Knowing the slider is more of a swing-and-miss kind of thing, trying to use that later rather than using it throughout the whole at-bat just kind of takes the effect away just abusing it when you use it so much. So just kind of mixing everything, keeping guys off balance is just a big, big part of that.”
Graceffo credited Bernal for the game-calling behind the plate, another standout moment for the rookie catcher playing in just his seventh Major League game.
“He’s done a great job since he's been here,” said Graceffo. “I’ve thrown to him in Spring Training, thrown to him in [Triple-A] Memphis, and we've always been on the same page, more or less. You just want to trust your guys in that situation. The worst thing we can do out there is overthink ourselves and overthink the catcher.”
Marmol called Graceffo and Bernal’s sequencing “gutsy.”
“The fact that he and Leo, I'm just continuing to learn more about the way [Leo] thinks about the game, and the conviction behind what he does. So you're just observing that the whole way through, and to be able to sneak in and do what he did in both at-bats there was pretty good.”
Graceffo pointed to telling Bernal to “bang the curveball,” which surprised the backstop.
“I told him that, and I reminded him, I think in [the Cardinals’ previous series in Colorado]. He was like, ‘That's your best pitch.’
“I was like, ‘Yeah, well, not anymore.'”