Steven Matz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz served in a hybrid role between the starting rotation and the bullpen in April, but plenty of off days in May allowed him to take over as more of a traditional reliever in May. Matz posted a 3.00 ERA in six relief outings in May and held hitters to a .235 average and .559 OPS. It's unlikely St. Louis will move Matz back to a starting role, according to The Athletic's Katie Woo, because it would leave the team scrambling for coverage in their bullpen while also leaving them short on innings in the rotation on the days Matz starts. Instead of moving Matz back to a starting role, the Cards could use pitching prospect Michael McGreevy as a spot starter in June. The 34-year-old Matz hit a rough patch in Tuesday's 10-7 loss to the Royals, taking the loss while allowing two earned runs on three hits while walking none and striking out two.

St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Steven Matz will draw the start in Wednesday's game against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. It will be Matz's second start of the year, and he'll be pitching on three days of rest after getting two outs out of the bullpen on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The 33-year-old veteran southpaw has pitched well for the Red Birds early on in 2025 -- he's allowed four earned runs on 15 hits (no homers) while walking only three and striking out 14 in 20 innings, but he'll still be a pretty volatile streaming option in a hitter-friendly ballpark this week. In his lone start this year on April 16 against the Houston Astros, Matz got the win by giving up just one earned run in five innings while walking none and striking out five.

The Athletic's Katie Woo writes that the St. Louis Cardinals seem inclined to use left-handed veteran Steven Matz in the starting rotation to start the season. However, it's not a guarantee, especially is young pitchers Andre Pallante and Michael McGreevy continue their strong springs. The main thing is that Matz has been healthy in camp, and the Cardinals will get a better sense of how effective the 33-year-old southpaw will be over the final few weeks of Grapefruit League action. Barring a late-spring trade, Woo believes Matz will be on the Opening Day roster as a back-end starter. Matz has allowed just one run with three walks and three strikeouts in five innings over his two spring starts. Since Matz has mostly dealt with injuries the last couple of seasons, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him eventually moved to a long-relief role when St. Louis feels Pallante or McGreevy are ready.