Quinn Mathews

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #2 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Medium.
  
  Track Record: Mathews returned to Stanford for his senior season after spurning the Rays, who drafted him in the 19th round in 2022. It was a wise move for Mathews, who won Pacific-12 Conference pitcher of the year, helped lead Stanford to the College World Series and finished second in the nation in strikeouts behind only LSU’s Paul Skenes. Mathews went to the Cardinals in the fourth round in 2023 and made his professional debut in spring 2024. With a significant uptick in fastball velocity, he pitched at all four full-season levels of the minor leagues. On the season, Mathews went 8-5 with a 2.76 ERA in 143.1 innings with 200 strikeouts, marking only the second time a minor league pitcher had reached that total since 2011. Following the season, Mathews was honored with the BA Minor League Pitcher of the Year award.
  
  Scouting Report: Mathews stands 6-foot-5 with a lean build. His mechanics are simple, starting from a full overhead windup. Mathews delivers the ball from a low three-quarters arm slot and does a good job of getting downhill in his drop-and-drive delivery, which allows his fastball to play up. The pitch sits 94-95 mph and touches 98 at peak with above-average ride for his release height. While Mathews added enough velocity to make his fastball development a headline of the season, the quality of his slider and changeup drove his results. Mathews’ mid-80s slider and low-80s changeup miss bats at an above-average rate, giving him a pair of secondary weapons that move in opposite directions. Mathews has a history of going deep into starts and handling a starter’s workload.
  
  The Future: Mathews is a surefire midrotation arm with the ability to eat innings and navigate a lineup efficiently thanks to a combination of stuff and execution.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 65 | Control: 60
• 
  Ranked St. Louis Cardinals #24 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Mathews was a 19th-round draft pick by the Rays in 2022, but didn’t sign and returned to Stanford for his senior year. That was a smart move. He had his best college season, won Pac-12 pitcher of the year and led Stanford to the College World Series. Mathews had a viral moment when he threw a 156-pitch complete game against Texas in super regionals. The Cardinals selected Mathews in the fourth round and signed him to a $600,000 bonus.
  
  Scouting Report: Mathews is a polished strike thrower with a four-pitch mix and average stuff. His fastball sits 90-92 mph and touches 94 mph with above-average ride. His best pitch is an above-average changeup that generates swings and misses. Mathews has a low-80s slider with moderate sweep and a mid-70s curveball that’s hardly used. His command took a jump to above-average in 2023 after often nibbling around the zone too much as an underclassman. Mathews has a high level of pitchability and touch for execution and throws lots of strikes while consistently working deep into games.
  
  The Future: Mathews is a low-risk, back-end starter and innings-eater who could take a jump with a few added ticks of velocity.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 45 | Curveball: 40 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #105 prospect in 2023 draft
  School: Stanford Source: 4YR
  
  Commit/Drafted: Rays ’22 (19)
  Age At Draft: 22.8
  BA Grade:45/High
  Tools:Fastball: 50. Slider: 50. Curveball: 40. Changeup: 60. Control: 50.
  
  A 19th-round draft pick by the Rays in 2022, Mathews opted to return to Stanford for his senior year and emerged as the Cardinal’s ace. He went 10-4, 3.75 and finished second in the country with 158 strikeouts en route to being named the Pacific-12 Conference pitcher of the year. Mathews is a tall 6-foot-5, 188-pound workhorse who consistently pitches deep into games. He pitched at least seven innings in 11 of his 18 starts this spring, capped by a complete-game, 16-strikeout performance against Texas in the Super Regionals where he threw 156 pitches. Mathews has a deep four-pitch mix he commands well to keep hitters guessing. His fastball sits 90-94 mph out of a low slot and plays up with his ability to command it in the bottom quadrants of the strike zone. His best secondary pitch is a plus, 80s changeup that he sells with his arm speed and disappears below the zone for swings and misses. He can both locate and bury his sweeping, low-80s slider for strikes against hitters on both sides of the plate, and he also has a below-average but usable mid-70s curveball he’ll mix in to keep batters guessing. Mathews holds his stuff and control deep into games and has an advanced feel for mixing his pitches. He projects to be a back-of-the-rotation starter and will be one of the first college lefthanders selected.
• Ranked #228 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Stanford Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.8
  A lanky lefthander who brings plenty of funk, Mathews has pitched as a starter and reliever for Stanford throughout his career. In 2022, Mathews posted a 3.08 ERA over 99.1 innings in nine starts and 18 relief appearances, while racking up 111 strikeouts (26.3 K%) and 49 walks (11.6 BB%). He mostly pitches off a fastball-changeup-slider combination, with his fastball sitting around 90-91 mph and touching 94. He’s gotten solid swing-and-miss rates with a sweepy slider around 80 mph and a low-80s changeup with heavy usage and solid tumbling action when he locates it down. Mathews will occasionally mix in a slower, 12-to-6 curveball in the low-to-mid 70s, but he doesn’t use the pitch often. With a four-pitch mix and a changeup that flashes plus, Mathews has a chance to start at the next level but will need to improve his control to stick in that role.
• Ranked #457 prospect in 2019 draft
  Matthews is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound lefthander with a projectable arm. He has good feel for locating a fastball that sits in the 86-89 mph range but has been up to 91 with a loose, easy delivery. Matthews throws two breaking balls, one a very slow, loopy curveball that's a well below-average offering and another pitch that he calls a slider but which scouts see as a curveball that has a chance to be an average offering. He's also shown good feel for a changeup. Matthews is expected to be a tough sign out of Stanford, but with more strength and added bite to his secondaries, could see his stock skyrocket in three years.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #37 prospect in 2024

• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Matthews is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound lefthander with a projectable arm. He has good feel for locating a fastball that sits in the 86-89 mph range but has been up to 91 with a loose, easy delivery. Matthews throws two breaking balls, one a very slow, loopy curveball that's a well below-average offering and another pitch that he calls a slider but which scouts see as a curveball that has a chance to be an average offering. He's also shown good feel for a changeup. Matthews is expected to be a tough sign out of Stanford, but with more strength and added bite to his secondaries, could see his stock skyrocket in three years.