Michael

McGreevy

McGreevy’s velocity is still down about two mph from last year, but he gave up only four singles and walked none today. The likely No. 3 starter for the Cardinals, he has a 3.24 ERA through three starts.

McGreevy’s 24 fastballs and sinkers today produced nine called strikes and no contact. His 14 sliders and sweepers, on the other hand, were put into play seven times, resulting in all three hits he surrendered. McGreevy has given up two runs in 4 1/3 innings to date.

McGreevy retired six of seven batters after a leadoff homer from Jakob Marsee. His velocity was down about two mph from last year in his first tuneup, which probably doesn’t mean much of anything. McGreevy will almost assuredly open up with a spot in the St. Louis rotation this year.

McGreevy surrendered two homers to Michael Busch. He ends a solid rookie season at 8-4 with a 4.42 ERA and a 58/20 K/BB in 95 2/3 innings. Going forward, he’ll need to up his groundball rate or his strikeout rate in order to remain successful. This year’s 47% groundball rate is above average, but it’s not going to be good enough to overcome a 14.5% strikeout rate.

McGreevy allowed homers to bookend his innings; a leadoff shot from Heliot Ramos and a fifth-inning solo blast from Rafael Devers. The big damage came in the fourth, however, as McGreevy allowed a three-spot in that frame. Fortunately for him and fantasy managers, the mediocre at best effort gets a win thanks to six runs of support from his offense. McGreevy was due for an outing like this, and he’ll hope to pitch more like he did Tuesday (7 IP, 0 ER, 6 SO) against the Reds when he pitches in the finale against the Cubs.

McGreevy put together the best start of his rookie campaign, shutting out the Reds over seven innings. He scattered three hits and issued three walks while collecting six strikeouts on 91 pitches. The 25-year-old right-hander will look to build on the start when he takes a 4.08 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 53/15 K/BB ratio across 86 innings into a start against the Giants in San Francisco on Monday.

It was 1-1 when McGreevy departed, so he didn’t factor into the decision. In his last eight starts, McGreevy has completed six innings seven times, amassing a 4.11 ERA. He’s not missing enough bats to do much better than that, but he feels like someone the Cardinals can pencil into next year’s rotation. He’ll face the Reds next.

McGreevy walked one batter on the evening while striking out three. He served up back-to-back homers to Rafael Devers and Willy Adames in the opening frame, then kept the Giants off the board until they erupted for four more in the fourth inning. The 25-year-old hurler got six swings and misses on 75 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he totes a 4.68 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a 43/12 K/BB ratio (73 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Mariners in Seattle.

The Reds went the whole game without striking out, but they were held to three singles and two doubles while mostly pounding the ball into the ground against McGreevy. It’s the sixth straight outing in which McGreevy has completed six innings, and he improved to 6-2 with a 4.17 ERA. His ceiling wouldn’t seem to be very high, but it’s certainly already safe to pencil him into the Cardinals’ 2026 rotation. He’ll face the Giants next.

McGreevy struck out seven and walked two while posting a 19 percent whiff rate and 25 percent CSW. He was set up for the win before Riley O’Brien allowed a run in the ninth inning. The 25-year-old doesn’t miss many bats, but he pounds the strike zone, which allows for plenty of called strikes and the odd game with a solid strikeout total. Three of the four runs McGreevy allowed were on two home runs, and that makes it hard to get excited about starting him in Cincinnati later this week.