Cards' young fireballer draws ... Kershaw comps?

JUPITER, Fla. -- Dating back to the first time Cardinals roving instructor Ryan Ludwick saw left-hander Quinn Mathews flash his fiery competitiveness and overpowering stuff in a 2024 live batting practice session, one very favorable comparison kept coming to mind.

Clayton Kershaw -- a career 212-game winner, two-time World Series champion, 10-time All-Star and three-time National League Cy Young Award winner -- was the comparison Ludwick conjured up. Undoubtedly, the Cardinals would be thrilled if the 24-year-old Mathews has a career as dominant as the Dodgers’ lefty.

Mathews, the Cardinals' No. 2-ranked prospect and No. 45 in baseball, showed why scouts and fans are so bullish about his future in Friday’s Spring Breakout game. Mathews threw three scoreless innings during a 3-3 tie against Miami's top prospects at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mathews, who struck out 202 batters last season and was named Minor League Baseball’s Pitching Prospect of the Year, fanned three Marlins and walked three on Friday.

Ever the perfectionist and often his harshest critic, Mathews said he never felt comfortable on Friday -- with his delivery or his stuff.

“I wasn’t sharp, and that’s fine because you are going to have outings like that,” said Mathews, who threw 49 pitches, but just 23 for strikes. “The key is how do you put together quality outings even when you are not at your sharpest or best? I made some pitches when I needed to, but there were at-bats that I gave away that I didn’t need to. Mechanically, I might need to address a few things.”

Ludwick, the Cardinals' Spring Breakout manager on Friday, said he was very impressed with Mathews, St. Louis' fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Though he made several qualifiers, Ludwick offered a very favorable pro comparison for the 6-foot-4, 214-pound Mathews, who he first saw compete in a fiery live batting practice session against hitters early in 2024.

“This is a huge [comparison], and I don’t like giving guys comps because it’s hard to live up to them at times,” Ludwick said. “But when I think back to that live [BP] that he threw, the guy who I saw young and in his first big league start was Clayton Kershaw. You know, big, tall lefty with good stuff. Obviously, he’s got a long road to go to become Clayton Kershaw, but the electricity he showed in that live [BP], and the way he rose through the system last year and competed at each level, you can see a bright future for him.”

Mathews, a native of Mission Viejo, Calif., was shocked to hear the comparison.

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“Obviously, that’s probably one of the biggest compliments you can get when you are getting compared to arguably the best arm in our conscious generation,” said Mathews, who pitched at four Minor League levels last season. “That’s a huge honor to get an acknowledgement like that. Maybe with the competitiveness, but I’m not as good physically. But maybe I’m as competitive as Kershaw.”

JJ Wetherholt, the top-ranked player in the Cards' system and No. 23 in baseball, lined out to left, grounded out and was hit by a pitch in his three plate appearances.

Mathews pitched well over his three innings, and he got some stellar defensive support from his teammates. Center fielder Nathan Church threw out Marlins first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos at the plate to end the second inning and keep the game scoreless. Then, catcher Jimmy Crooks -- St. Louis' No. 4 prospect, showed off his arm and quick transition by throwing out Jared Serna trying to steal second to end the third inning.

Mixing a changeup and a curveball with a fastball that topped out at 95 mph, Mathews threw a perfect first inning and pitched around two walks in the second. In the third, he fanned Carter Johnson with an 83 mph slider and fooled Javier Sanoja with a changeup.

“Quinn’s a perfectionist, kind of like how I am, so he felt like his stuff wasn’t good, but he still got three scoreless innings and he’s fine,” Crooks said with a laugh. "It’s a long Spring Training, and once the season rolls around, he’ll be a whole different Quinn Mathews, kind of like it was last year. He’s going to dominate, and I love catching him.”