Spring training is here, and with it comes the excitement and anticipation for fans and teams alike. For the St.

Louis Cardinals, there’s a buzz in the air about their pitching staff potentially turning a corner. After years of struggles on the mound, the Cardinals might just have found the solution to their pitching woes.

Several Cardinals pitchers have been showing impressive numbers this spring, not just in stats but also in their pitching arsenal and underlying metrics. Richard Fitts and Dustin May, for instance, have both upped their fastball velocity, with Fitts leading the league’s starting pitchers in Stuff+ early in the preseason. These are promising signs for a team looking to bolster its rotation.

Adding to the excitement is Matthew Liberatore, who recently delivered a standout performance with a five-inning, seven-strikeout outing, allowing only two earned runs. But it wasn’t just the box score that caught attention.

Liberatore racked up an impressive 16 swings and misses in his five innings of work, a high mark for any pitcher in spring training so far. This is just one shy of his career-high 17 whiffs, achieved with significantly more pitches than the 64 he threw in this recent start.

While the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup he faced wasn’t the most daunting, Liberatore’s performance is still noteworthy. His ability to generate swings and misses is a promising sign for the Cardinals, who have long needed a boost in their pitching department.

This kind of performance starts to tip the scales on the trade that brought him to St. Louis in exchange for Randy Arozarena, a deal initially seen as a win for the Rays.

Liberatore’s development is a testament to the Cardinals’ revamped approach to pitching. Under the guidance of new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, the team has shifted focus towards acquiring and developing pitchers capable of generating strikeouts. Liberatore’s progress is a significant step in the right direction, showing that the Cardinals’ new strategy might be paying off.

As the Cardinals head into the 2026 season, expectations might be tempered, but there’s a growing sense of optimism around their pitching staff. If Liberatore and his fellow hurlers can carry their spring success into the regular season, the Cardinals could find themselves with a formidable rotation sooner than anticipated. While a playoff push might not be in the cards just yet, the foundation for future success is being laid, and the team’s rebuild might be closer to completion than many expected.