The Road to The Show™: Cardinals’ Graceffo

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at fourth-ranked Cardinals prospect Gordon Graceffo. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

In the past three seasons, few prospects have had the same type of meteoric rise as Gordon Graceffo.

The 23-year-old transformed himself from a mid-round Draft talent from a “basketball school” to the baseball's No. 71 overall prospect and is currently competing at the highest level of the Minor Leagues with Triple-A Memphis.

It’s been an uneven start to his first International League season, however. He came out of the gate strong, allowing six total runs over his first three starts, one of which was hitless, but he matched that total in his most recent outing against Durham. He enters the week with a 4.91 ERA and 20 punchouts over 22 innings.

Graceffo now consistently reaches the upper 90s with his fastball, which he tunnels well with an upper-80s slider. He also has a sinking changeup and a less-often-used curveball. He has mostly maintained the excellent command from his amateur days, although he’s a much different pitcher than the one the Cardinals drafted.

The Wayne, New Jersey native made the most of his only Division I scholarship offer, attending his high school coach’s alma mater at Villanova University. He joined the Wildcats’ rotation as a freshman and forced his name on the prospect radar before the pandemic shortened season in 2020.

Graceffo legitimized his prospect status when he took over as Villanova’s Friday night starter his junior year, packing on muscle in the offseason and seeing his first consistent velocity spike, often reaching 95 mph with his fastball. He showed he was a workhorse in his final year of college and finished with a 1.54 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 82 innings in 11 starts. The jump in velocity didn’t negatively impact his command as he issued just 13 walks during that season.

After a stop in the Cape Cod League, Graceffo entered the Draft with a reputation as a control-first starter with a competitive edge. The Cardinals landed the right-hander in the fifth round, and he signed for a reported $500,000 bonus, which was greater than slot value for a 151st pick.

Graceffo made an immediate impression following the Draft. He worked 11 appearances out of the Single-A Palm Beach bullpen, posting a 1.73 ERA with 37 strikeouts over 26 innings. Although he only made one start, each of his outings lasted more than one inning and, combined with his final college and Cape Cod season, he finished with 121 total innings in 2021.

The 6-foot-4 righty again packed on muscle in the offseason and saw another increase in fastball velocity. The Cardinals knew they had something special in Graceffo entering the 2022 season and decided to give him a pretty difficult challenge during camp.

With poor weather threatening a Grapefruit League night game, the club instead decided to have some of its best hitters, including Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, take live batting practice against Graceffo at the team’s facility in Jupiter, Florida. Although he did get tagged with a couple long balls in that session, he also showed flashes of brilliance against some of the big league’s best and jump-started a season in which he took another great leap forward.

At the end of 2022, Graceffo was named the Cardinals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He advanced from High-A Peoria to Double-A Springfield in his first full season and finished with a 2.97 ERA, .202 opponent’s batting average and 139 strikeouts over 139 ⅓ total innings across 26 starts at both levels.

#STLCards star Nolan Arenado faces rookie RHP Gordon Graceffo in live BP. Depending on defensive positioning, Arenado hits either a deep fly to the warning track or a ground-rule double the opposite way. pic.twitter.com/rdn50ht9BE

— John Denton (@JohnDenton555) February 19, 2023

The 22-year-old made quick work of the Midwest League to open the year, lasting just eight starts before earning a promotion at the end of May. Over 45 ⅔ innings, Graceffo compiled a 0.99 ERA with 56 strikeouts and used his control to his advantage, issuing just four walks with the Chiefs.

It didn’t take long for Graceffo to get a handle on the Texas League. He won five of his first six decisions and completed seven innings in four starts while compiling a 3.21 ERA over that span. He went through a difficult stretch at the start of the second half but finished brilliantly. Graceffo rattled off three scoreless starts to end the season, compiling 22 punchouts over 16 ⅔ innings to earn Texas League Pitcher of the Month in September.

“In Double-A, those are legit hitters and guys who will make it in the big leagues, and once I figured that level out, everything clicked, and I felt really confident,” Graceffo told MLB.com. “It’s a steppingstone and a part of the journey, and now I’m hoping to take that next step.”

This strong finish inspired some to believe that Graceffo could challenge for a spot on the Opening Day roster this season, even if that were to come in a bullpen role. Graceffo was more than receptive to the idea of working in Major League relief during camp, and that may still be his quickest route to The Show.

But Graceffo’s first month in Triple-A has proven that there’s more for him to figure out at the Minors’ highest level. He’s shown to be more than willing to put the work in, and his competitive drive suggests it’ll only be a matter of time before he gets there and be an important figure on the St. Louis pitching staff.