Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Name Matthew Liberatore OPENING DAY Starter, Richard Fitts Demotion SHOCKS Fans!

Starting point is 00:00:00 The St. Louis Cardinals have named their opening day starter, and they sent down a pitcher that many thought had already made the club. This is Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey there, Cardinals fans. I'm J.D. Hafer, and this episode of Locked on Cardinals is brought to you by MLB, the show 26. Visit MLB-the.com slash locked on and use code locked on to unlock a pack for use.

Starting point is 00:00:34 and Diamond Dynasty. Available now on PlayStation 5 Xbox Series S and X and Nintendo Switch rated E for everyone. On today's show, we've got the spring breakout roster for the Cardinals to discuss. We'll break down the Cardinals 4 to 1 victory over the Astros on Wednesday, but we're going to start today with the announcement that was officially made during the game today when they spoke with manager Ali Marmal, and that was that Matthew Libertor will be the Cardinals opening day starter in St. Louis against his former team, the Tampa Bay. raised on March 26th, that Bush Stadium. Now, before spring training began, we debated on who should be the opening day starter. You know, we're always creating conversation when there's not a

Starting point is 00:01:13 talk about just yet. And it always came down to Matthew Libertor or top free agent signing, Dustin May, who was going to get that opening day start. But from the get go, it kind of felt like it was Libby's job to lose. And he's had a really good spring to back up the idea that he is going to be the Cardinals number one guy going into the 2026 season. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with Matthew Livertour's story, it hasn't really been all that easy for him since he got dealt to the Cardinals, not only just for him as a player as he tries to work his way up the minor leagues and get to the pros, but also having to compete with what Randy a Rosembrain it was doing for the Tampa Bay race. You know, he was a lightning rod for that franchise, helped them get to the

Starting point is 00:01:57 World Series in 2020, won the ALCS MVP in the process. says, and then he follows that up with the AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2021. He's been one of the more exciting players in all of baseball since he got to Tampa Bay. And it left all of us wondering like, what? Why? Why did we trade this guy? It'd be so good. And we got a Matthew Libertor who is still working his way through the minors.

Starting point is 00:02:23 We know that it takes a little while longer usually for pitchers to develop compared to normal position players. and he didn't make his MLB debut until 2022. So it constantly was upsetting Cardinal fans. And there's plenty of them. We were still mad that that trade ever took place. They ended up putting Libby in the Bullpen, if you remember, in 2024, where he seemed pretty comfortable, it was pretty good.

Starting point is 00:02:45 But then last year, they brought him back to the rotation where he went 8 and 12 with a 4.21 ERA over 29 starts. He started off the season pretty well, but seemed to kind of wear down in the second half, which, you know, that's not entirely unexpected, considering. that this was the most he'd thrown in the big leagues since he came up. But, you know, this spring, he's looked really freaking good, made three starts. Four, if you count that Nicaragua game where he went three and a third innings, allowed two runs on five hits, struck out five in that one.

Starting point is 00:03:13 But in just Great Fruit League action, he's allowed three runs on nine heads over ten innings with 14 strikeouts in just one walk and an ERA of 2.70 and a whip of one. And although it feels like Libby has been around forever and is like, should be 30 years old by now. He's still only 26. He's in the prime of his career, which is right on par with the youth movement that the Cardinals are rolling with here in 2026. And now he's going to get a chance to start the season. And he's going to get to do it with a revenge game because he gets to do it against his former team in the Tampa Bay Rays, whom he's faced twice in his career going one and one against them. If you remember, he had that one start against them in 2023, and he was

Starting point is 00:03:57 dynamite. He was so good in that game. Eight innings struck out seven got the victory and we're like, yes, this is the guy. And then last year didn't go quite as well. Lasted just four and a third innings allowed four runs on three hits, a home run. He walked three. He punched out five. But, you know, let me getting the opening day nod. Not really a surprise, not really a surprise at all. We kind of expected it just the way they had aligned things so far in the spring. It just felt like this was going to be Matthew Libertor's duty. He's going to be the opening day starter. So not much of a surprise.

Starting point is 00:04:33 Now, the Cardinals also made a decision on the rest of the rotation by optioning Richard Fitz to Memphis. And I know a lot of people were impressed with what Richard Fitz brought to the table early on. He had a, I would say, an okay spring. You know, it's his first one with the team since coming over in that sunny gray trade with Boston, started three games, showed a lot of life with the fast. ball, which obviously is going to open up some eyes.

Starting point is 00:05:00 He was routinely sitting at 97 miles per hour, which was great. ERA this spring, 5.7.9, 9th strikeouts and 9 in the third innings. His second outing, his first outing was great, and it got everybody really hype. Second outing was a rough one. It didn't go so well in that one, but he was much better his last time out. He allowed only one hit, four and two thirds innings, but he did have three walks, but he also struck out five. So, you know, when you see these inconsistent numbers, you know,

Starting point is 00:05:26 It just means that there's work to be done and there's no rush here. Like, it's okay for Richard Fitz to start in the minor leagues. I know a lot of people are going to be upset about it, but you're just upset because you don't want Andre Palante on this team anymore. Be honest, that's why you feel the way you do. But Andre Palante has had a solid spring. You know, when it comes down to it and we throw spring treading stats out the window and people say, ah, that doesn't really mean much.

Starting point is 00:05:55 But these guys were competing for a final spot in the rotation. That's what they were doing. And when you put Fitz's numbers up against what Andre Palante did this spring, Andre Palante won the job. Four starts, 14 innings, four runs, eight hits, five walks, 11 strikeouts for Andre. The ERA at 2.57, the whip under one at 0.93. Opponents are only hitting 167 against Palante. The real hope is like, great, cool, you did this in the spring.

Starting point is 00:06:24 can you transfer that over to the regular season? And hopefully he's shaking off the just absolute yuckiness from last year's brutal season. Like it was tough to watch Andre Palante last year. We know that. He knows that. The team knows that. But they also realize that there is talent there. And hopefully he's much better this year and can become a viable back of the rotation guy.

Starting point is 00:06:48 If not, you move him back to the bullpen. And that's okay. And you've got fits, $100. who's going to start the year on the IEL. He's coming back from the knee injury, but you've got Fitz, you've got Hunter Dobbins, you've got Quinn Matthews sitting down there, waiting in the wings at Memphis as well.

Starting point is 00:07:03 So there's pitching depth for the Cardinals this year, if injuries and if lack of production become an issue. Last year, you had all the health in the world, but the guys that were in the rotation weren't very good. The production was crap, but there was nobody to bring up to take over those roles anyway. So they were just stuck with the Eric Fettys and the Miles Michaels of the world. So this year is going to be different.

Starting point is 00:07:30 There's going to be a chance if somebody's having a rough month or so, he ain't going to be around. They're going to ship them out and they got other people that they'll give a chance to. Now there was some discussion of a six-man rotation. They got a bunch of off days. Like, I think it's every Thursday in April. They're off. So, you know, they don't really need that at this time.

Starting point is 00:07:51 But, you know, that's something that they'll talk about. and discuss later on when the schedule starts to get a little more hectic. But Fitz goes to Memphis, which might surprise some people. Doesn't shock me that they did this move. And the Cardinals will go with a rotation that consists of Libby, Dustin May, Michael McGreevy, Andre Palante, and then Kyle Leahy, who got the start on Wednesday against the Astros. We're going to talk about that game coming up next on Lockdown Cardinals.

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Starting point is 00:11:09 the number one sports podcast network. If you haven't joined the everyday our club, you should do it now with the code March, M-A-R-C-H and get your first month free. If you sign up before the NCAA tournament tips off on Thursday, you can compete in our men's and women's bracket pools on Discord.

Starting point is 00:11:26 Winner's going to score $100 in Lockdown merch. The rest of us will sit there and cry because we didn't win. And as a member of the club, you get an ad-free version of this show. Again, it's all free for a month with Code March at Locked on STL Cardinals. That supercast.com or tap the link in the show notes for more information. Cardinals pick up the win on Wednesday against the Astros,

Starting point is 00:11:47 and not so ideal weather conditions either. It was cloudy, it was windy, it was raining at times, no good. Not a pretty day at Roger Dean Stadium. And for most of the day, it was dominated by the pitching staffs on both sides. There was not a whole lot of offense in this one. Cardinals were used to this. Like we haven't seen a lot of offense at all this spring, which makes me think that's going to carry over into the off seas

Starting point is 00:12:13 or into the regular season where I feel like we're going to be losing a lot of three to two ball games, stuff like that. They're going to be tight. We're probably going to win a few three to two ball games as well. But it's not going to be the offensive explosion that some of these teams are going to enjoy this year. But my number one start of the game is going to go to the starter himself, Kyle Leahy, who we just talked about, made the rotation, despite some early struggles.

Starting point is 00:12:36 And this one was able to get through five innings on 75 pitches. First inning was a really long one for him, 20-some-odd pitches that first inning. But he hung on. He battled, didn't allow a run, gave up three hits and one walk, struck out six. And this was against a Houston lineup that had a lot of their big guns in there. They had Jose Altuvae and Issoc Parades, Jordan Alvarez, Carlos Correa, Yanni Diaz, Christian Walker, all these guys. we're in the lineup. So to see him pitch very well in not so great conditions, to struggle

Starting point is 00:13:07 early on and to work through it and come out on the other side shining and looking good. That's really encouraging. And now we know that Kyle has secured that spot in the rotation. So that's, you know, probably some weight off his shoulders a little bit as he tries to follow in Libby's footsteps and make the crossover from Reliever to starter. So good stuff there from Kyle Leahy. My second star of the game, oh, yeah, time to go to church. Nathan Church, that is. Started in center field today, all around strong day.

Starting point is 00:13:40 I love this dude's game. He, in his first at bat, he doubles off, first pitch he sees, doubles off Houston starter JP France, scores in the bottom of the third inning on a Brody Moore double to right field, which was a good piece of heading by Brody, by the way. So props to you on that one. Gave the Cardinals a one-to-nothing lead. took a walk and stole second base in his second and bat in the fifth inning. Then in the sixth inning, he preserved the tie when he gunned down a runner at home plate

Starting point is 00:14:05 trying to tag, excuse me, try to tag up and score on him to end the inning. I'm getting choked up talking about David Church. But guys, I'm being honest here. I'm starting to fall in love with this dude. Like, you know how I've had a passion for, you know, not, doesn't have to be the superstar guys. Like I was a big Michael Siani guy when he was on the Cardinals. and I'm falling into the Nathan Church love.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Like I, he's bad at 313 now, 10 hits, second on the club in the spring. He's got an OBP of 436, which means he's getting on base in different ways. He's not, it's not just hits. He's also walking. He's taking five walks. He's struck out five times. So you like to see the even play there. A couple of stolen bases.

Starting point is 00:14:51 We know he's got good wheels. We know he's really good defensively. You've heard, you know, Chip Carey and the boys talk about him where he's been like the highest rated defensive player in the organization for a couple of years now. And that's saying something, considering that, you know, Victor Scott has been down there. J.J. Weatherhole was there last year. So I'm excited about him. And, you know, nude is going to be gone for a while. How long? We have no idea. I don't know how long this thing's going to last. We know he's going to say he's got to start on the aisle. He's not going to be ready. Just be honest. All right. just say it. They haven't done it yet, but just say it. But he's got to be gone for a while.

Starting point is 00:15:28 And I got no issues whatsoever with letting Nathan Church take over and left field while he's gone. No problem with that whatsoever. You know, will his offense be enough at the major league level? We saw him struggle when he came up last year, but that happens to rookies all the time. He's looked pretty good in the spring. And I just love the fact that he's just one of those, you know, dirt bag type of players, man. He's running around. He's diving. He's, stealing bases. He's playing awesome. I dig it. I dig it. Third start of the game, we're going to go with Ty Pete. Give it to the youngster man, solo blasts in the bottom of the eighth inning, gave the Cardinals a two to one lead. It was his first home run of the spring. And he was one of the pieces in the Brendan

Starting point is 00:16:13 Donovan deal that came over as part of the Seattle portion of that particular deal along with Gerangelo Sangea, 20 years old, hasn't played above high A yet, but it hit 19 dingers. He stole 25 bags there last season, and he's just got a really bright future ahead of him. You can see the joy and the excitement as he hit the home run and the way he went around the bags and stuff. Like, that was a cool moment, man, 20 years old. And he's playing with a bunch of big leaguers and able to come through in the clutch like that. So that was cool.

Starting point is 00:16:49 So the future, very bright for Ty Pete. It's going to take time. He's only 20 years old. So let him get to AA and we'll see where he goes from there. But he's got tools, that's for sure. More observations from this game. Plus, we got that spring breakout roster was announced. So we'll talk about all of that coming up next on Locked on Cardinals.

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Starting point is 00:19:35 Internet connection is required. Available now on PlayStation 5 Xbox Series S and X and Nintendo Switch, rated E for everyone. Thank you for making Lockton Cardinals, your first list of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown on the number one sports podcast network. observations from this game. Ramon Mendoza. Shout out to Ramon. Pop the two run, home run in the eighth inning as well, second of the spring for the 25-year-old infielder, which you love to see. Thomas Sucy, Ramon Arias, Yvonne Herrera. These guys were all back in action. Herrera had a busy few wings behind the plate. He caught forward today, and man, he was all over the players. He was scrambling left and right, trying to reel in some of the pitches that were getting spiked by Kyle Leahy today. So, A busy guy, he's probably going to be tired tonight. He's going to sleep like a baby.

Starting point is 00:20:27 Petro Pahas came in for him in the fifth inning. So good to see Yvonne moving around back there. He's moving around nicely too, considering he's been dealing with knee inflammation. So Jacey had a hit in his first dip bat, finished one for three on the day. Arias and Herrera both go 0 for two. It's going to be, you know, you know how it is when you're coming back from sitting out for a little bit because of injuries, you know, timing. It's going to take a couple of days for these guys to get their timing back. But yeah, another rough day for Mason Wynn and Jordan Walker.

Starting point is 00:20:55 All right. This is kind of the negative side of things. Both these guys went 0 for three with two strikeouts. It has not been a pretty spring for either one of them. Mason Wynn is now hitting just 133. And, you know, the one thing that everybody worries about, Mason Wend defensively, phenomenal. But where's the offense?

Starting point is 00:21:12 Is it going to be there? Is he going to be able to step up? Again, first half last year, he was great. The knee starts to bother him. offense goes in the toilet and his season gets cut short. It has not shown all that much offensively yet this spring. It's been pretty disappointing if I'm just being honest. And then, of course, we know the struggles for Jordan Walker.

Starting point is 00:21:32 He's down to a 162 batting average, a couple more strikeouts. I mean, he is just balance-wise in the box. Like, he's all over the place. Like, it is a mess. It is a mess. But he's not going anywhere. It really seems like he's going to be a starting right fielder. and they're going to live and die with them and let him work through this.

Starting point is 00:21:52 Nelson Velasquez, who, you know, most of us believe it is going to be on the roster, was 0 for 3 in this game as well. So just a poor day altogether to play for a lot of the Cardinals hitters. The one run for Houston came against Ryan Stanick in the sixth inning. First run he gave up this spring. Jojo Romero, Matt's Fonson, were perfect. Romero punched out two. Fonson went two in this one and got a strikeout.

Starting point is 00:22:14 So bullpen continues to look great. Thursday, the spring breakout game is going to take place along with another game against the Nationals. They'll play that first. And then they'll have the breakout game roster has been announced for the Cardinals, who will feature a ton of the Cardinals top prospects. A lot of them, if you're an everyday or here at Lockedong Cardinals, you've heard me talk about a lot of these people already.

Starting point is 00:22:35 Obviously, it's going to be headlined by JJ Weatherholt, who will play in the game again. Pitching-wise, Liam Doyle is going to be, obviously, a named watch. And we're looking forward to seeing what Liam Doyle can do, because we haven't gotten the chance to see him this spring. He's been in minor league camp the whole time. But you've got Tyler Brought, Mason Burns, Liam Doyle, who is MLB's number 34 prospect.

Starting point is 00:22:59 Oh, Heker-Ferardo, Tanner Franklin, Joby Galvez, Jason Savakul, Michael Watson. All of these guys are going to be in there. So you've got three of the Cardinals, top 20 prospects, with Fouharto at 13, Franklin's number 11, and then Doyle at 2. Leonardo Bernal, Ryan Campos, and Renio Rodriguez will be also on the catching duties.

Starting point is 00:23:22 So you've got number three and number six in the organization and number 98, number 37. Overall, going to be performing for the Cardinals there. Jesus Bayez, who's number 20 on the Cardinals top 30. He's there. Jalen Flores, John John Gazzar, Jack Gerevich, who was number 30 in the Cardinals top 30. Blaze Jordan will be there. Number 27, Josh Cross, Noah Menlinger, Danielle Ortiz, who's going to be number, he's number 24 on the prospect list for M.OB pipeline.

Starting point is 00:23:54 Yadro Padilla, number 16, J.J. Weatherholtz, we mentioned. He's number one for the Cardinals, number five in baseball. In your outbuild, Joshua Baez, who is number four for the Cardinals, number 87, among the top 100. Colton Ledbetter, Zach Levinson, Ryan Mitchell, who's number 12 for the Cardinals, and then Taipe, who had the big home run on Wednesday, number 18 for the Cardinals. And your manager, Jason is Ringhaus. Is he going to be in charge of things? So a fun group of the top prospects the Cardinals have to offer. So it should be interesting to watch. Nats and Cardinals will play at 1205 St. Louis time.

Starting point is 00:24:31 And then the breakout game will happen after that between the Nationals and the Cardinals and the Cardinals prospects. That's set for 330 and will be available on MLB.tv, MLB.com, the MLB app and game day. But, yeah, I'm anxious to see this. I want to see Doyle. I want to see me some Tanner Franklin. Obviously, Bernal and Rodriguez, we love seeing what they can do from behind the play. Infielder-wise, Jesus Baez, who was a big part of the trade for Ryan Helsley last year and came over from the Met.

Starting point is 00:25:02 So that's a guy I want to watch Ortiz, who's been on this show before. Excited to see him. Of course, Joshua Baez, seeing him play again, was having a monster spring before a guy getting sent to minor league camp. Ledbetter. We've seen him just tear the cover. the ball in the spring so far. So just a lot of, a lot of fun names. And I'm looking forward to it. So hopefully you'll make some time to check that out. Thanks again for making a lockdown cardinals. Your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give us follow an ex at L0 underscore

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Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - St. Louis Cardinals Name Matthew Liberatore OPENING DAY Starter, Richard Fitts Demotion SHOCKS Fans!

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