The St. Louis Cardinals starting rotation will likely look drastically different from Opening Day to the end of this upcoming season.

One of the Cardinals’ most significant signings of the offseason, right-hander Dustin May, is expected to be a trade candidate at the deadline if he’s able to put together a solid season. The team is also moving Kyle Leahy from the bullpen to the starting rotation and has multiple top 100 prospects — Jurrangelo Cijntje and Liam Doyle.

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The rest of St. Louis’ projected rotation is still relatively unproven as starting pitchers over the course of an entire season. However, a former Cardinals pitcher is confident in at least one arm to take a step forward.

In a recent episode of the Cardinal Territory podcast, one-time All-Star Kyle Gibson shared his belief that right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy could take a step forward in 2026.

“I think McGreevy is a really interesting arm that I think could take a step forward,” Gibson said on the podcast. ” … (McGreevy) can pitch. He can move the ball side-to-side on the plate, up-and-down. And I think that’s an art that’s kind of coming back a little bit in starters. So I look for him to kind of take that step.”

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McGreevy was selected by St. Louis with the 18th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of UC Santa Barbara. He made his major league debut in 2024 and made four appearances (three starts).

McGreevy began last season with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He moved up-and-down the minor and major leagues several times.

McGreevy ended up finishing the year with a 4.42 ERA and struck out 58 batters in 95.2 innings pitched across 17 appearances (16 starts).

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So far this spring, McGreevy has a 2.70 ERA and has fanned 11 hitters in 13.1 innings pitched across four Grapefruit League starts.

Currently, McGreevy is projected to break camp as the No. 4 starter in the team’s starting rotation, according to FanGraphs.

McGreevy excelled in limiting free bases and generating weak contact. The former UC Santa Barbara hurler had a walk rate of 5% and a ground ball rate of 48%. Those marks ranked in the 93rd percentile and 76th percentile of baseball, respectively, according to Baseball Savant.

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The 25-year-old is still under pre-arbitration and will be under team control for the next several years. If he’s able to take the step forward Gibson expects him to take, he could become a focal point in the organization’s future vision of the franchise.

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