Matthew Liberatore

24-Year-Old PitcherSP

St. Louis Cardinals

2023 Stats

W-L

3-6

ERA

5.25

WHIP

1.48

Rest-of-Season Projections

W-L

ERA

WHIP

Unlock Our Projections

2023 Fantasy Outlook

Liberatore has one of the prettiest curveballs you will see in baseball. The league hit .222 off his curveball with a 35% Whiff Rate as it is his primary weapon of choice to put away hitters. The problem with Liberatore is his fastball was incredibly hittable last season as the league hit .364 against the pitch while slugging .673 off it. This is why he has struggled both at the major and upper minors since the year off in 2020 with walks, homers, and too many baserunners. The Cardinals did not even put him on the postseason roster, and he does not appear to have a shot at a spot in the rotation to start the season unless Jack Flaherty or Steven Matz break down again. It is tough to give up on someone whose velocity and movement are similar to Reid Detmers and Max Fried (according to StatCast), but he is current a distant third in that trio until something improves with his fastball. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#585

ADP

League Majors

Bats L

Throws L

40 Man Yes

Height 6'3"

Weight 190

DOB 11/6/1999

Born Peoria, AZ

College None

Drafted 1st Rd 2018 TB

Tagged with loss

PSt. Louis Cardinals

September 22, 2023

Liberatore (3-6) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Friday versus the Padres.

ANALYSIS
The young lefty surrendered a two-run home run to Manny Machado in the eighth inning, ending Liberatore's eight-inning scoreless streak. He has a 5.52 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 44:24 K:BB through 58.2 innings across 19 outings (11 starts) this season.

Read More News

Pitching Stats

Loading Pitching Stats...

2023

2022

2020

2023 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Loading Pitching Game Log...

2022 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Loading Pitching Game Log...

2020 MLB Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Scoring

FanDuel

DraftKings

Yahoo DFS

Loading Pitching Game Log...

Minor League Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time

Just click on any two dates.

Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...

Pitching Appearances Breakdown

Average Pitch Count

Last 10 Games

Last 5 Games

How many pitches does Matthew Liberatore generally throw?

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

101-110

111-120

121+

What part of the game does Matthew Liberatore generally pitch?

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Extra

% Games Reaching Innings Threshold

% Games By Number of Innings Pitched

Left/Right Pitching Splits

Since 2021

-38%

BAA vs LHP

2023

-46%

BAA vs LHP

2022

-28%

BAA vs LHP

2021

No Stats

	BAA	Batters	K	BB	H	2B	3B	HR
Since 2021vs Left	.193	95	18	6	16	4	0	1
Since 2021vs Right	.311	341	56	37	92	30	4	9
2023vs Left	.163	55	9	1	8	3	0	1
2023vs Right	.302	220	37	24	58	19	2	4
2022vs Left	.235	40	9	5	8	1	0	0
2022vs Right	.327	121	19	13	34	11	2	5
2021vs Left	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021vs Right	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Home/Away Pitching Splits

Since 2021

-45%

ERA at Home

2023

-29%

ERA at Home

2022

-73%

ERA at Home

2021

No Stats

	ERA	WHIP	IP	W	L	SV	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Since 2021Home	3.86	1.48	46.2	3	3	0	7.3	3.9	0.6
Since 2021Away	7.07	1.65	49.2	2	5	0	6.5	4.2	1.3
2023Home	4.46	1.57	34.1	1	3	0	7.1	3.9	0.5
2023Away	6.26	1.35	27.1	2	3	0	6.3	3.3	1.0
2022Home	2.19	1.22	12.1	2	0	0	8.0	3.6	0.7
2022Away	8.06	2.01	22.1	0	2	0	6.9	5.2	1.6
2021Home	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021Away	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Matthew Liberatore compare to other starting pitchers?

This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

K/BB

1.84

K/9

6.7

BB/9

3.6

HR/9

0.7

Fastball

94.3 mph

ERA

5.25

WHIP

1.48

BABIP

.323

GB/FB

1.41

Left On Base

58.3%

Exit Velocity

83.9 mph

Barrels/BBE

3.8%

Spin Rate

2216 rpm

Balls Hit 95+ MPH

25.6%

Swinging Strike

7.8%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Matthew Liberatore Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Pitching Stats

Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...

Defensive Stats

Loading MLB Defensive Stats...

Stats Vs Today's Lineup

Want more matchup stats?

View Matthew Liberatore vs. Batter Stats

Loading Matchup Stats...

Cardinals Depth Chart

Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.

Subscribe Now

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2020

2019

While Liberatore's fastball is just OK, his slider has emerged as a dominant offering. The pitch got whiffs 41% of the time and was thrown for strikes 71% of the time, and that success helped the 6-foot-5 southpaw put up a strong final full season in the minors. His 124.2 innings were the 11th most in the minors and fifth most by a fantasy-relevant pitcher. He had a 4.04 ERA and 1.25 WHIP on the year, but he finished strong, logging a 2.67 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 57:17 K:BB in 57.1 innings over his final 10 starts. In addition to his low-90s fastball and plus slider, he also throws a curveball and a changeup, both of which have above-average potential. While he is not on the 40-man roster, Liberatore represents the Cardinals' clear best starter in the minors, so it seems inevitable that he will spend a portion of this season in the big-league rotation, provided he stays healthy. The Cardinals offer excellent team context (defense, ballpark, division), and while Liberatore isn't so elite that he would be a set-it-and-forget-it option, he should at least be streamable in favorable matchups.

Through no fault of his own, Liberatore will inevitably be judged against Randy Arozarena, as the two were the headlining pieces in last offseason's trade between the Rays and Cardinals. While Arozarena's stock has taken off like a rocket ship since the trade, Liberatore's stock has taken a slight hit with the emergence of TrackMan data on public sites, such as Prospects Live. The 6-foot-5 lefty gets poor extension on his low-spin low-90s fastball, meaning it will play below its velocity. His curveball and changeup are quality offspeed offerings and he could develop plus command, so Liberatore's future is in the rotation, but this seems like a nice offseason to cash him out in dynasty leagues. He may open at High-A, but he should spend the bulk of 2021 at Double-A, setting up a potential 2022 MLB debut.

A high-pedigree lefty with an excellent 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame, Liberatore largely lived up to expectations in his first full season. The target was 115 innings, and he was on that pace until an ineffective July (17 ER, 12 BB in 21.1 IP), which was followed by missed time in August with a back spasms. Prior to July, he had a 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 48 innings (eight starts). He also finished strong after returning from the injured list (1.80 ERA, 10:2 K:BB in 10 IP). Liberatore commands a plus low-90s fastball that touches 97 mph, and his curveball is one of the best in the minors. He also has a quality changeup and useable slider. His deep arsenal, above-average command and ability to induce weak contact (57.3 GB%) point to at least a mid-rotation role, with a chance for a little more if his changeup or slider improves. He was shipped to St. Louis in a multi-player trade this offseason.

Any investment in a prep pitcher who has not made his full-season debut is fraught with risk, but Liberatore has the qualities dynasty-league managers should be looking for when contemplating taking that plunge. A 6-foot-5, 200-pound southpaw, Liberatore was in the mix to be a top-five pick in 2018, but his velocity ticked down and he scuffled with his command late in his senior year. That small sample led to the Rays getting a bargain with the No. 16 overall pick. Liberatore was sitting 92-93 mph with his fastball and touched 95 mph after signing. He also boasts a plus curveball and a changeup that projects as another plus secondary offering. There is no guarantee that he will add velocity in the coming years, but given his age and projectable frame, it would not be surprising if he were sitting 94-95 mph with his heater by the time he reaches the majors. That would all add up to a frontline starter, given his athleticism and expected command gains.

More Fantasy News

Awarded win Friday

PSt. Louis Cardinals

September 8, 2023

Liberatore (3-5) walked one and struck out three over 1.1 scoreless and hitless innings to earn the win Friday over the Reds.

ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Set for bullpen role

PSt. Louis Cardinals

September 5, 2023

Liberatore (back) will pitch out of the bullpen for the Cardinals after he was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Monday, Jim Hayes of Bally Sports Midwest reports.

ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Returns from IL

PSt. Louis Cardinals

September 5, 2023

Liberatore (back) was activated from the 15-day injured list Monday.

ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Another inefficient rehab start

PSt. Louis Cardinals

Back

September 3, 2023

Liberatore (back) struck out six while allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and five walks over three innings in his rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Memphis.

ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Getting another rehab start

PSt. Louis Cardinals

Back

September 2, 2023

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Liberatore (back) is scheduled to make at least one more rehab start at Triple-A Memphis prior to being activated from the 15-day injured list, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.