What if I told you that Michael McGreevy would be the third starter on the St. Louis Cardinals' Wild Card roster? There's likely some doubt that the Cardinals would do such a thing, but their last trip to the World Series was propelled by a rookie, Michael Wacha.
Wacha debuted in the 2013 season and joined the team fully in August of that year, pitching in 12 games in the final two months of the season before throwing in five games during the postseason, winning four along with the NLCS MVP award.
Wacha was drafted in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft before making his debut the next season. He was brought up in May and June of 2013 to make three spot starts before spending August primarily out of the bullpen before joining the rotation in September.
McGreevy has fit the Wacha mold this season, appearing in four games as needed for spot starts while spending the majority of his season with Triple-A Memphis.
Comparing Wacha's 2013 to McGreevy's 2025, the starter have eerily similar lines in the minors:
Wacha 2013: 2.65 ERA, 0.988 WHIP, 85.0 IP, 6.9 H9, 1.0 HR9, 2.0 BB9, 7.7 K9
McGreevy 2025: 2.68 ERA, 1.119 WHIP, 67.0 IP, 8.5 H9, 0.5 HR9, 1.6 BB9, 9.3 K9
With an ERA separated by just three points, Wacha was more efficient in getting his outs, surrendering fewer hits but more walks per nine innings, while McGreevy has been better at racking up the strikeouts in Triple-A.
The difference is that the Cardinals' pitching staff was banged up in 2013 with Chris Carpenter missing the entire season, along with Jaime Garcia undergoing season-ending surgery, leading to Wacha’s emergence. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have avoided pitching injuries in 2025 but have suffered through a rough season for Erick Fedde, who, as Bernie Miklasz mentioned in his Tuesday column, is dead last in strikeout rate, FIP, and strikeout-walk ratio, among 50 MLB pitchers with at least 90 innings through Monday.
With the trade deadline approaching, the Cardinals could attempt to dump Fedde in a trade, or if his woes continue to designate him for assignment and call up McGreevy full-time.
McGreevy could be this season’s Wacha, coming up late in the season when the staff needs a fresh arm to provide a jolt to the rotation. McGreevy could earn the opportunity to take the ball if the Cardinals find themselves in a do-or-die game in the Wild Card series.