Matthew

Liberatore

The 25-year-old southpaw allowed just three hits and three walks on the evening. All of the damage that was done against him came on an RBI double off the bat of Ke’Bryan Hayes with two outs in the sixth inning. Aside from that, he was in complete command. Liberatore got a whopping 17 swings and misses on 99 pitches on the night — seven of those on his heater — while registering an elite CSW of 38 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling as he carries a 3.07 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 38/6 K/BB ratio (41 innings) into Monday’s showdown against the Phillies in Philadelphia. It goes without saying, but if he’s hanging around on the waiver wire in any shallower formats, now is the time to rectify that.

Liberatore threw just 42 pitches before the 97-minute stoppage, so he could be brought back early if the Cardinals would like. They were planning on going to a six-man rotation, with Steven Matz starting again next week, but they have some options now.

Liberatore punched out four opposing hitters in the ballgame and didn’t allow a base on balls. The Brewers got to him for a run in the sixth inning on a two-out RBI single by Christian Yelich, then they scratched out an unearned run while chasing him in the seventh. The 25-year-old hurler got 10 whiffs on 89 pitches on the evening, posting a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll see if he can keep the good times rolling as he carries a stellar 3.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 28/2 K/BB ratio (31 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Reds in Cincinnati.

Liberatore worked a pair of scoreless innings before the Mets got to him in the third, bringing two runs in on two doubles and a base hit. He then settled in for three more scoreless innings, leaving with two outs and one runner on in the seventh. He struck out six. The 25-year-old left-hander is enjoying a solid start to the season in the St. Louis rotation, posting a 3.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 24/2 K/BB ratio across 25 innings. Liberatore is in line to take on the Brewers in St. Louis next Saturday.

Liberatore showed his best velocity of the year today and wound up with seven strikeouts. The 28 sliders he threw produced 10 missed swings and two weakly hit balls, one of which was a bunt. His other pitches were hit harder, but he still yielded just three singles in moving to 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. His next start is due to come against the Mets in New York.

Liberatore struck out seven and walked none, but 12 of the 20 balls in play against him were hit hard and three more barely missed the threshold. Liberatore has struggled mightily against right-handers as a major leaguer, and the trend has held up through two starts this year; righties are batting .341 against him, whereas the few lefties he’s gotten to face are hitless. He really seems best suited for the pen.

The 25-year-old southpaw struck out four on the evening and didn’t walk a batter. The only real trouble that he got into came in the third inning as the Angels strung together four straight two-out hits to push three runs across. He settled in nicely afterwards though and allowed just one baserunner over his final three frames. Liberatore got four swings and misses on 77 pitches on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of 23 percent. He’s lined up for a pair of starts next week, taking on the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Monday and then a home tilt against the Phillies on Sunday afternoon.

Fedde and Andre Pallante will toe the rubber to close out a three-game series against the Twins before Miles Mikolas and Matthew Liberatore kick off another home series against the Angels early next week. It’ll be Opening Day starter Sonny Gray wrapping up that set.

Liberatore beat out Michael McGreevy with a 1.62 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 9/4 K/BB ratio in 16 2/3 innings this spring. The 25-year-old left-hander owns a 4.99 career ERA in 91 appearances mostly out of the bullpen for St. Louis. Liberatore’s fantasy value is limited to NL-Only leagues to start the year.

Liberatore allowed two hits, walked two and struck out two. He closes out the spring with a 1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 innings, but it still seems like Michael McGreevy has overtaken him on the rotation depth chart. Liberatore probably will return to the bullpen, though the Cardinals do have the option of sending him down to Triple-A and allowing him to continue to start.