Cardinals prospect Michael McGreevy felt he had more to give when his innings were limited and his pitch count monitored as Class AA Springfield’s 2022 season wound down.
“Me and (Gordon) Graceffo were telling (Springfield pitching coach) Darwin Marrero and (manager Jose) Leger at the end like, ‘Dude, let us keep going,’” said McGreevy, who along with fellow Cardinals prospect Graceffo was placed on precautionary limits to end his first full MiLB season. “... They’re just trying to keep us help keep us healthy, which we understand.”
The limits made one of his 2023 targets clear.
“But going into the next year, I didn’t want to kind of have that limitation,” McGreevy said in a phone interview. “I wanted to throw as many innings as I could. The great big league starters (are at) 200-plus innings, I think. That’s the level you want to play at. Best ability is availability. And if I’m missing starts because my shoulder is out of shape and I got hurt or my forearm has some tightness ... that’s a problem, and that’s something I don’t want the Cardinals to have to think about with me.”
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In a 2023 season spent mostly with Class AAA Memphis, the 23-year-old righty tossed 153 innings across 27 starts while maintaining a 4.12 ERA. The innings total from the 2021 first-round pick paced the Cardinals system and was the second-largest workload in the minors behind A’s prospect Mitch Spence, who threw 163 innings in 29 Class AAA starts in the Yankees system.
McGreevy’s knack for filling the strike zone led to a walk rate below 6% for a second consecutive season. His sinker- and slider-focused repertoire helped him induce a 54% ground-ball rate that was within the top 25 of qualified MiLB pitchers, per FanGraphs and a rate 4% higher than what he produced in 2022.
“I really was proud of my 2023 season,” he said. “I think the offseason work I put in last year really kind of is a testament to it.”
Though it came with a few learning curves.
While he went 11-6 in 24 Class AAA starts, McGreevy ended the International League with a 4.49 ERA and a .291 batting average allowed to opposing hitters. Against lefties, McGreevy allowed a .352 average, which led him to work with minor league pitching instructor and Cardinals Hall of Famer Jason Isringhausen in search of a solution.
More trust in his change-up and fastballs up in the zone during the final few starts of the year gave McGreevy a glimpse of the blueprint needed to combat lefties and a plan for the offseason.
“We got some good results toward the end of the year, but it still wasn’t where we wanted to be in terms of the attack plan,” he said.
Back in his native Orange County, McGreevy has spent his winter training at Chapman Baseball Compound in Irvine, California. After prepping his arm last winter for a larger workload, this winter’s focus has been on the lower half of his body. The hope is that getting more explosiveness with his hips and improved mobility will add velocity.
Not just a flash of velocity when adrenaline is high early in the year but rather an “attainable goal” that can be sustained through the course of the season.
“I know more than anyone that to be a big league starter, I’ve got to throw a little harder,” McGreevy said. “That’s something that we’re focusing on, and that’s where the lower half comes in to really help those hips fire, gets more velo on the ball. If the average velo goes up a mile per hour, that means the max velo goes up as well.”
Some extra zip could help him keep pace in a more crowded Cardinals pitching group at the prospect and major league levels after Ƶ added through last summer’s trade deadline and over this winter.
At the past season’s deadline, the Cardinals acquired upper minor league talents in Sem Robberse, Adam Kloffenstein, Tekoah Roby and Drew Rom through various deals. Of the group, Rom is the only one to have reached the majors. Robberse and Kloffenstein have reached Class AAA while Roby has not yet.
The Cardinals also acquired 23-year-old right-hander Victor Santos and 25-year-old righty Nick Robertson in a deal with the Red Sox in December. Santos will be coming off injury after having not pitched in the minors 2023. There was also the addition of 25-year-old righty Ryan Fernandez through the Rule 5 draft.
Then there are the Cardinals major league moves in adding veteran starters including 2023 American League Cy Young runner-up Sonny Gray, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson to fill three holes on the starting staff.
“Baseball is so mental,” said McGreevy, who will be a non-roster invitee to big league camp this spring. “It’s hard to sometimes say, ‘Hey, this year is my year yada yada yada. Oh my gosh, I’m so close.’ All you see is they added another guy. They added another guy. I feel I like that could get a lot of guys feeling down about themselves and where the Cardinals might see them at. But you always kind of have to reground yourself and think, ‘Look, control what I can control.’
“And all I can control is going out there every day and giving 100% effort and doing my job as a starting pitcher for the Cardinals. The Memphis Redbirds.
The Ƶ Cardinals in the backfield during spring training against the Miami Marlins on Field 3. ... Doing that every day, going about my business the right way helps me stay optimistic about what I know I can do for the Ƶ Cardinals down the road.”