Redbirds' Mathews not as impressed by his 200-K milestone as the rest of us

As Quinn Mathews puts the finishing touches on an exceptional rookie campaign, he also joined some elite company.

MLB's No. 80 overall prospect reached the 200-strikeout plateau with his third punchout and finished with five over six innings for Triple-A Memphis on Thursday night. The RedBirds fell to visiting Durham, 4-0, at AutoZone Park.

Mathews -- who has fanned 202 in 143 1/3 innings across four levels this year -- joined D-backs right-hander Brandon Pfaadt as the only Minor Leaguers to reach the milestone since 2011. Pfaadt punched out 218 batters for Triple-A Reno and Double-A Amarillo in 2022.

Mathews tallied strikeouts in the second and third innings before flinging a nasty backfoot slider on a 2-2 pitch to Osleivis Basabe (Rays) for his 200th K to open the fourth. The 23-year-old followed up with another punchout and added one more in the sixth. It was just the third time in 26 starts Mathews failed to record as many strikeouts as innings pitched.

As impressive as the feat was, it didn't hold much significance for the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect, who is more focused on his overall results.

"[The 200th strikeout] really wasn't terribly important to me," Mathews said. "Every out counts the same, even as a strikeout pitcher. Whether it's a first-pitch soft-contact ground ball or three straight heaters blowing a guy away. In today’s game, strikeouts are important, but at the end of the day, it's an out and that’s what is most important to me."

Mathews' whirlwind season has been all the more impressive considering the amount of professional experience he had entering 2024 -- zero. St. Louis nabbed the Stanford product in the fourth round of the 2023 Draft after he finished his collegiate career second in the nation in strikeouts (158) behind Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes. The Cardinals kept him off the mound after he tossed 124 2/3 innings in college that year, delaying his debut until this April with Single-A Palm Beach.

Mathews' second pro start -- 11 strikeouts and one hit allowed over five scoreless frames on April 12 -- was a harbinger of things to come. The 6-foot-5, 188-pounder fanned a career-high 13 two starts later and departed Palm Beach for High-A Peoria with 52 K's across 30 2/3 innings.

Mathews rolled on in the Midwest League -- posting a .160 average-against and 58 strikeouts in 43 2/3 innings -- earning a spot in the All-Star Futures Game (where he struck out a pair) and another promotion to Double-A Springfield in July. The native of Mission Viejo, Calif., was nearly untouchable in four August starts, surrendering two runs in 25 2/3 innings while fanning 40, including a trio of double-digit strikeout performances.

Mathews headed to Memphis on Aug. 28 after his third promotion. He has taken his spot among the best lefty-throwing prospects in the game, checking in at No. 4 on Pipeline's southpaw rankings and finding himself one step from the Majors a mere 14 months after he was drafted.

📩 CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO BEN'S BIZ

"Every level has taught me something different," Matthews said. "As soon as you think you’ve got an idea of what to do, the hitters at the next level tell you differently.

"Hitting is challenging ... if you go 3-for-10, you’re a pretty good hitter. As a pitcher, you know that too. Sometimes you make pitches and they hit it, and sometimes you throw it right down the middle and they miss it. It's the way it goes."

Although his numbers in the hitter-friendly International League have leveled off, Mathews sports a 2.76 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP after 26 starts. He's produced seven outings with 11 or more K's and boasts a K/9 of 12.7.

"I didn't pitch my game the first few [Triple-A] starts," Mathews explained. "Tonight, I can say that I competed in the zone. There were a few pitches or at-bats where I might have executed better, but it was a step forward for me, to be sure."