The St. Louis Cardinals are staring down their third straight season of playing golf in October instead of baseball with a record of 68-71 in early September, but that doesn’t mean 2025 is a total loss. With John Mozeliak packing up his gear at the end of the season, that’s an upgrade by subtraction right there. Further, the organization is clearly shifting gears toward a rebuild. And while top prospect JJ Wetherholt is raking down in Triple-A, technically, he’s a minor leaguer, and thus can’t be the top rookie. That leaves another young player to earn that title for St. Louis: Michael McGreevy.
Even if Wetherholt is called up in September, something that Mozeliak has hinted won’t happen, McGreevy probably still retains the title of Cardinals’ rookie of the year
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter recently highlighted each team’s top rookie, and for the Cardinals, McGreevy was the clear pick. “The Cardinals are in a transition period, especially on the pitching side of things, and McGreevy looks like a potential long-term piece in the rotation,” Reuter wrote. “The No. 18 overall pick in the 2021 draft has settled in nicely since replacing Erick Fedde in the rotation, and in six August starts he went 4-0 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 36 innings.”
That’s not hype, that’s production. McGreevy has quietly given the Cardinals one of the steadiest arms in their rotation, something this club desperately needed in a year when Sonny Gray and Matthew Liberatore have struggled. After flashing promise in 2024 with a 1.96 ERA in limited action, McGreevy has kept it going in 2025. He’s now 6-2 with a 4.17 ERA across 11 starts and one relief outing, showing poise beyond his years and proving he belongs at this level.
And the kid is only getting better. His last outing? Six innings of one-run ball against the Reds, helping St. Louis play spoiler while flashing the kind of consistency the rotation has been sorely missing. He doesn’t have to strike out 10 guys a night to dominate — instead, he leans on ground balls, soft contact, and pitching to spots. That’s the kind of profile that can anchor a rotation for years.
Looking ahead, 2026 looms large. For the first time, McGreevy will have a chance to break camp as a full-fledged starter locked into the rotation. With the Cardinals low on proven pitching but loaded with opportunities for young arms, the door is wide open for McGreevy to cement himself as the foundation of a rebuild that could carry this team back to contention.
So yes, the season may feel lost in the standings. But between Wetherholt waiting in the wings and McGreevy already proving himself in the big leagues, there’s a real argument that the future is arriving faster than anyone thought in St. Louis.
