Matthew Liberatore DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who served as a dependable reliever for the team in 2024, said that he's preparing to be a starter in spring training and for the 2025 regular season. "It's easier to go from five innings to one than one to five," Liberatore said. MLB's John Denton writes that the key for Liberatore will be getting better against right-handed hitters, and that could ultimately determine if the Cardinals are comfortable giving him a starting-rotation spot to begin the regular season. The 25-year-old southpaw and former first-rounder by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 held a 4.40 ERA and 1.23 WHIP overall with a career-high 76 strikeouts and 28 walks in 86 innings over 60 outings (six starts) for St. Louis last year, but he had an ERA under 4.00 in relief. In his career as a starter, Liberatore holds an ERA just south of 6.00.

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore recorded eight strikeouts without allowing a run across six innings of work, picking up his second win of the year during his start against the Atlanta Braves in Wednesday's doubleheader. Drawing the start for the Cardinals on short notice in Game 2 of Wednesday's twin bill, Liberatore was stellar in what was easily his best display of the season. The 24-year-old left-hander has plenty of untapped potential; he was the top pitching prospect in St. Louis' farm system just three years ago. Although it's unclear how manager Oliver Marmol will elect to use Liberatore going forward, he's suddenly someone to monitor closely in fantasy leagues moving ahead. Liberatore now carries a 3.86 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 36 punchouts and 16 walks over 44 1/3 innings (five starts), tentatively lining up to start next week in a favorable spot on the road against the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore will start Monday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Liberatore is primarily used as a reliever, but he has started one other game this season. He went 3 2/3 innings in that outing against the Chicago White Sox, giving up one run on three hits with five strikeouts. The 24-year-old was once a top pitching prospect in the Cardinals season and has a five-pitch mix. His leash may not be overly long in Monday's start, but he is an alright streaming option against a Trout-less Angels offense.

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Matthew Liberatore (illness) was unavailable for this past weekend's three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks because of an illness, but manager Oliver Marmol said that the hurler will rejoin the team on Monday for the start of the three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. Having not pitched since last Tuesday, it sounds like Liberatore is feeling better and should be available out of the bullpen on Monday. The 24-year-old southpaw was the top pitching prospect in St. Louis' farm system not long ago, and while he's settling in as a key bullpen piece for the Cards, it's a far cry from the expectations he once garnered. Liberatore owns a solid 3.52 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with five strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings primarily working as a middle-reliever this year, which is a role that doesn't lend itself to very much fantasy appeal at the moment.