Quinn Mathews fans seven in spot start versus Reds

Mathews gave up four hits, walked two and struck out eight. He’s now posted back-to-back quality starts for the first time in his young career. Mathews has a 3.62 ERA in the first seven starts of his career. He’s lined up to face the Nationals at home on Sunday.

Mathews got tagged for a solo homer by Bryce Eldridge in the first inning. Christian Koss then took him deep for a solo shot in the second. The two runs would be all he allowed as he completed six innings for the first time in his career, logging his first quality start. He scattered three other hits and two walks while striking out four. The 25-year-old left-hander will take a 4.11 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and a 28/14 K/BB ratio across 30 2/3 innings into a start against the same Giants in St. Louis on Monday.

Mathews allowed four hits, walked four and struck out four in his fifth big-league start. The lone run came on a wild pitch after a double and a walk in the fifth. He’ll take a 4.38 ERA into a favorable matchup next week in San Francisco.

Mathews gave up 10 hits, walked one and struck out three. He fell to 0-2 with the loss. With two on and two outs in the first inning, Mathews allowed back-to-back hits, leading to three runs for the Phillies. In the third inning, a stretch of six batters included five hits and a sacrifice fly, which led to four Phillies runs. Mathews is lined up to face the Pirates at home next weekend, but he’s not ready to be trusted in mixed leagues yet.

Mathews returns to the big leagues with both Andre Pallante (elbow) and Hunter Dobbins (forearm) landing on the injured list in rapid succession. The 25-year-old southpaw has allowed three runs with a 10/6 K/BB ratio across nine innings of work in a pair of starts over the last couple weeks. He figures to have a rotation spot with the Cardinals for at least a couple weeks and offers enough strikeout upside to be interesting for fantasy purposes. The big question is whether he can throw enough strikes to be a consistent starter at the highest level.

This was an expected move as Mathews was designated as the Cardinals’ 27th man ahead of their double-header against the Reds on Monday. He pitched well though, allowing just one run and striking out seven over four innings. It’s likely he gets another opportunity in St. Louis’ rotation before the end of the season.

Mathews will likely only be up as the 27th man and then return to Triple-A afterwards. Andre Pallante will start the second game of the doubleheader.

This is surprising, especially following Dustin May’s departure. Mathews did solid work against the Jays in his major league debut Saturday (2 ER in 5+ innings), and it seemed like he was going to get an extended look. Something obviously has changed since, or the Cardinals presumably would have sent him down on Sunday.

Mathews allowed six hits, walked three and struck out three, which doesn’t sound great. However, he allowed just four hard-hit balls, and he finished with 12 whiffs and a solid 29 percent CSW. He was likely to stay in the rotation no matter how today went, but it was definitely a decent enough first effort. Since he’s lined up for a home start against the Rockies, he’s a fair streaming option next week.

Mathews will make his major-league debut against the Blue Jays on Saturday at the Rogers Centre. The 25-year-old southpaw was widely regarded as one of baseball’s most exciting pitching prospects entering last season before a shoulder injury, compounded by mechanical issues that wreaked havoc on his command, completely derailed his development. The result was nearly 50 Triple-A starts over the past two seasons instead of a prolonged opportunity in the majors. He still misses bats at an impressive clip, keeping him firmly on the fantasy radar, but his inability to consistently throw strikes amplifies the risk more than most pitching prospects. He’s a fascinating talent, but forecasting his future is extremely challenging. He’s certainly not a fit for risk-averse fantasy managers.