Cardinals Have Unlikeliest Cy Younger Contender In St. Louis

If you had said at the start of Spring Training that Matthew Liberatore would be in the starting rotation, many would have probably be surprised.

Even as Spring Training went on and he shined, it still seemed like he was going to be coming out of the bullpen in 2025. The Cardinals front office thought differently and he earned a spot in the starting rotation at a camp.

That decision is looking like the smartest one of the last few months for the Cardinals. Liberatore hasn’t just been solid, he’s been one of the best overall left-handed pitchers in baseball this season. He has made 10 starts this season after yet another brilliant outing on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Liberatore went seven innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out four batters.

Overall, Liberatore has made 10 starts this season and has pitched to an eye-popping 2.73 ERA to go along with a 51-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 59 1/3 innings pitched.

If he continues to pitch the way he has lately, there’s going to be a real argument for him to make an All-Star team, possibly be in the mix for the National League Cy Young Award. Now, that’s an aggressive take, for sure, but it's not crazy. He isn't likely to win with the top three options looking like Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto along with Jesus Luzardo and Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies. But, Liberatore isn't far off.

Yamamoto and Luzardo both have sub-2.00 ERAs right now and Wheeler is at 2.42. Outside of these three there's a real argument that Liberatore's performance has put him in the top five or six in the National League right now. There's a lot of season left, but Liberatore looks like a star.