photo: Ty Van Dyke (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
With an ERA of 0.00 and a 7-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio across four starts, Palm Beach right-hander Ty Van Dyke compiled the top overall pitching performance in the St. Louis Cardinals system in April.
It is time to select The Cardinal Nation’s first Pitcher of the Month for 2026. This article covers pitchers across all levels of the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system during April.
As a reminder, this is NOT the “Pitcher of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with only their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not factors here.
Guidelines
To qualify, a pitcher must have thrown at least 10 innings during April. 39 of 76 active pitchers made the first cut. To reach the list of 11 finalists, an ERA below 3.00 was required. Encouragingly, the group consists of seven starters and four relievers.
One did not allow an earned run all month and two others had ERA’s below 0.67. From them to the next lowest ERA was a jump to 1.69. But as you will see below, there is more to our process than just selecting the pitcher with the lowest ERA.
The finalists represent all four full-season levels of the organization active during the month, from Low-A Palm Beach up through Triple-A Memphis. The first place Redbirds lead the pack with five finalists, with the other three levels featuring two finalists each. As an interesting side note, last-place Springfield’s two finalists are relievers.
Counting Stats
In the following table, the finalists are listed in ascending ERA order.
| April pitchers | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
| Ty Van Dyke | PB | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 19.1 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 0.57 |
| Pete Hansen* | Mem/PB | 0 | 0 | 0.59 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15.1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 1.04 |
| Rubén Menes | PB/Peo | 3 | 0 | 0.66 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0.66 |
| Yhoiker Fajardo | Peo | 1 | 0 | 1.69 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 1.25 |
| Richard Fitts | Mem | 2 | 0 | 1.76 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15.1 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1.24 |
| Mason Burns | Sgf | 0 | 1 | 2.08 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 1.23 |
| Max Rajcic | Mem | 2 | 1 | 2.29 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 19.2 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 1.27 |
| Luis Gastelum | Mem | 2 | 0 | 2.45 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 14.2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 1.23 |
| Michael Watson* | Sgf | 2 | 0 | 2.61 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 1.55 |
| Brycen Mautz* | Mem | 0 | 1 | 2.84 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 25.1 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 19 | 26 | 1.38 |
| Jack Martinez | PB | 0 | 2 | 2.95 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 18.1 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 1.26 |
| * left-handed |
That Palm Beach starter Ty Van Dyke allowed no unearned runs on just eight hits in 19 1/3 innings is exceptional. His three unearned runs came on a home run after defensive miscues.
The finalist-high 26 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings by Memphis’ Brycen Mautz catches one’s eye. However, his 19 walks were the most by all 76 pitchers in the system during April.
Though his 0.59 ERA is second lowest and his two Memphis debuts were strong, Pete Hansen’s first two starts were rehab outings three levels lower at Palm Beach, where he was expected to dominate.
Ruben Menes’ 0.66 ERA and 0.66 WHIP were both exceptional, not to mention his three wins. It is no wonder the reliever earned a promotion from Palm Beach to Peoria.
Yhoiker Fajardo’s 1.69 ERA was likely helped by his amazing 20 strikeouts against just two walks in 16 Midwest League innings. Not a bad first month in the organization.
Richard Fitts was great at Memphis with a 1.76 ERA before he suffered a season-ending injury.
The next four finalists are relievers with ERAs over 2.00 – Springfield’s Mason Burns and Michael Watson and Memphis teammates Max Rajcic and Luis Gastelum. A common thread is that their walks were too high.
Jack Martinez at Palm Beach also had a nice first month in the system with a good strikeout rate. The only blemish is three home runs allowed.
Advanced stats
Here are additional statistics from the 11 finalists in the same ascending ERA sequence.
| April pitchers | Age | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | BAA | BABIP | WHIP | ERA | FIP |
| Ty Van Dyke | 22 | 19.1 | 9.8 | 1.4 | 7.0 | 0.125 | 0.204 | 0.57 | 0.00 | 3.02 |
| Pete Hansen* | 25 | 15.1 | 9.4 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 0.197 | 0.264 | 1.04 | 0.59 | 2.69 |
| Rubén Menes | 24 | 13.2 | 9.9 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.109 | 0.161 | 0.66 | 0.66 | 2.68 |
| Yhoiker Fajardo | 19 | 16 | 11.3 | 1.1 | 10.0 | 0.278 | 0.412 | 1.25 | 1.69 | 2.43 |
| Richard Fitts | 26 | 15.1 | 6.5 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 0.236 | 0.295 | 1.24 | 1.76 | 3.42 |
| Mason Burns | 24 | 13 | 9.7 | 6.2 | 1.6 | 0.163 | 0.185 | 1.23 | 2.08 | 5.83 |
| Max Rajcic | 24 | 19.2 | 9.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 0.243 | 0.327 | 1.27 | 2.29 | 3.79 |
| Luis Gastelum | 24 | 14.2 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 0.145 | 0.171 | 1.23 | 2.45 | 4.92 |
| Michael Watson* | 24 | 10.1 | 13.9 | 8.7 | 1.6 | 0.171 | 0.278 | 1.55 | 2.61 | 5.03 |
| Brycen Mautz* | 24 | 25.1 | 9.2 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 0.174 | 0.219 | 1.38 | 2.84 | 5.18 |
| Jack Martinez | 23 | 18.1 | 11.3 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 0.203 | 0.256 | 1.26 | 2.95 | 5.18 |
| * left-handed |
With double-digit K rates, Watson, Martinez and Fajardo led the strikeout parade, with the former’s 13.9 Ks per nine innings best of the best. Gastelum and Fitts stand out for the wrong reasons with strikeout rates well under one per inning.
No one else was anywhere near the super stingy 1.1 and 1.4 free passes per nine innings logged by Fajardo and Van Dyke, respectively. The next best was Menes at 2.6.
Four walked six or more batters per nine innings, hurting their chances considerably. They are Watson, Mautz, Gastelum and Burns.
It is impossible to ignore Fajardo’s strikeout to walk ratio of 10.0. Relatively small sample or not, that is some impressive pitching. Van Dyke’s 7.0 rate is also amazing.
The other finalists were at 3.8 K/BB or lower. Bringing up the rear was Gastelum at 1.1. He has more work to do before being ready for MLB.
Seven of the 11 pitchers held opposing hitters to a collective batting average under .200, with Menes (.109) and Van Dyke (.125) the best of the best. Standing out like a sore thumb is Fajardo at .278. But wait!
BABIP (batting average on balls in play) helps explain why Fajardo is an outlier. His .412 BABIP suggests a lot of bad luck was in play. That he could register a 1.69 ERA despite this makes me wonder how good he could be with normal (.300) batted ball luck.
On the other hand, the very low .161 BABIP from Menes, .171 from Gastelum and .185 mark by Burns are not sustainable. The relief trio had considerable good fortune that should balance out (with poorer results) over time.
FIP or fielding independent pitching puts these April results in a different light. Six of the finalists have FIPs that are three or four runs higher than their ERA. Five have FIPs at 4.92 or more.
The finalist with both the lowest FIP and the closest ERA (1.69) and FIP (2.43) to one another is none other than Fajardo. Remember that he also had the highest batting average against and highest BABIP.
Only because of these wild swings did I not select Fajardo, who could have an even better May just ahead.
When considering all results, the most balanced performer is Van Dyke, our choice as The Cardinal Nation’s April Pitcher of the Month.
The right-hander posted the lowest ERA and WHIP among finalists. Van Dyke was second in three other categories – lowest opponent batting average, lowest walk rate and highest strikeout to walk ratio.
About the winner
Based on his solid Palm Beach debut after signing last July, the 10th rounder from Stetson entered our Top 50 Prospect List at no. 43. Van Dyke also got out of the chute quickly in 2026, named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 6-12.
While acknowledging that VanDyke has work to do on all his pitches including improving his sinker and cutter, Kyle Reis was very positive about Van Dyke’s potential, placing him 33rd on his personal list during the off-season.
“From his first start, Van Dyke was showing off a six-pitch mix, complementing his fastball and slider with a sinker, cutter, curve, and change. You must understand, this was a positively thrilling development for me. A big body with an arm and an ability and willingness to throw everything including the kitchen sink is what I dream of.”
Companion article
Peoria third baseman-shortstop Jalin Flores is our top hitter in the Cardinals system for the month of April. Check out his results and those of our other finalists here:
The Cardinal Nation April 2026 Player of the Month – Jalin Flores
What is next?
The Cardinals organization should also name their own selections as April Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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