photo: Cade Winquest (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
With the lowest ERA, FIP, WHIP, batting average against and highest strikeout rate, Cade Winquest compiled the top overall pitching performance in the St. Louis Cardinals system in August.
It is time to select The Cardinal Nation’s August Pitcher of the Month. This article covers hurlers in all roles across every level of the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system.
As a reminder, this is NOT the “Pitcher of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not the major factors here.
Guidelines
To qualify, a pitcher must have thrown at least 10 innings during August. Fifty-two of 106 active pitchers made the first cut. To reach the list of seven finalists, an ERA below 3.00 was required.
This group consists of four starters and three relievers. Though it is not a factor here, five of the seven are among the top 36 prospects in the system per The Cardinal Nation.
Three finalists, two relievers and a starter, allowed two or fewer earned runs all month, resulting in ERAs under 1.00. The pitcher with the most wins (tied) in the system in August also logged a most impressive 1.31 ERA.
The finalists represent three of the four full-season levels in the system. Triple-A Memphis led the way with three and Springfield and Peoria contributed two each. Palm Beach was barely represented by one August mound appearance by one of the finalists.
The oldest finalist is Memphis’ Jared Shuster at 27 years of age, followed by then-teammate Cade Winquest, who is 26. The youngest by three years is 19-year-old Yhoiker Fajardo from Peoria.
Two of the finalists are repeaters from July, reliever Christian Worley and starter Liam Doyle.
Counting Stats
In this first table, the finalists are listed in ascending ERA order.
| August pitchers | Tm | ERA | G | GS | W | L | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | WHIP |
| Cade Winquest | Memphis | 0.00 | 8 | 0 | 10.1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 0.77 | |||
| Christian Worley | Peoria | 0.87 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10.1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 0.97 | |
| Cooper Hjerpe | Memphis | 0.95 | 5 | 5 | 19.0 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 27 | 0 | 1.42 | |||
| Liam Doyle | Springfield | 1.31 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 20.2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 29 | 0 | 0.92 | ||
| Jared Shuster | Memphis | 2.40 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15.0 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 1.07 | |
| Yhoiker Fajardo | Springfield | 2.53 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 21.1 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 1.41 | |
| Cade Crossland | PB/Peoria | 2.74 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 23.0 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 0 | 1.22 |
Working in relief for Memphis, Winquest did not allow a run all month, earned or unearned. That contributed to his end of month promotion to St. Louis.
Down at Peoria, Worley yielded two runs, one earned, during August, his second consecutive month with an ERA under 1.00. Given that, it should be no surprise that as September began, Worley was also promoted, in his case, to Springfield.
The third sub-1.00 ERA pitcher was newly promoted himself. Memphis lefty Cooper Hjerpe logged a cool 0.95 ERA in his four Triple-A starts.
Doyle also posted a strong ERA of 1.31 in his four starts with Springfield. From there is a major gap to the final three finalists – Memphis reliever Jared Shuster at 2.40, Fajardo at 2.53 and lefty Cade Crossland, who spent most of the month at Peoria, with a 2.74 ERA.
Three of the finalists logged July WHIPs under 1.00, led by Winquest at 0.77. Next was Doyle at 0.92 with Worley at 0.97.
Also in WHIP, Hjerpe jumped all the way up to 1.42, highest among finalists, due to 17 walks in 19 innings. Right behind was fellow prospect Fajardo at 1.41.
Advanced stats
Here are additional statistics from the finalists in the ascending FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) sequence.
| August pitchers | Age | IP | K/BB | K% | BB% | K-BB% | BAA | BABIP | WHIP | ERA | FIP |
| Cade Winquest | 26 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 44.7% | 13.2% | 31.6% | 0.094 | 0.200 | 0.77 | 0.00 | 1.96 |
| Liam Doyle | 22 | 20.2 | 3.2 | 37.2% | 11.5% | 25.6% | 0.147 | 0.256 | 0.92 | 1.31 | 2.31 |
| Yhoiker Fajardo | 19 | 21.1 | 3.0 | 23.1% | 7.7% | 15.4% | 0.274 | 0.365 | 1.41 | 2.53 | 2.68 |
| Christian Worley | 24 | 10.1 | 6.0 | 43.9% | 7.3% | 36.6% | 0.189 | 0.333 | 0.97 | 0.87 | 2.76 |
| Cade Crossland | 22 | 23.0 | 2.4 | 32.3% | 13.5% | 18.8% | 0.190 | 0.313 | 1.22 | 2.74 | 3.34 |
| Cooper Hjerpe | 25 | 19.0 | 1.6 | 34.2% | 21.5% | 12.7% | 0.161 | 0.294 | 1.42 | 0.95 | 3.35 |
| Jared Shuster | 27 | 15.0 | 2.7 | 27.6% | 10.0% | 16.7% | 0.185 | 0.222 | 1.07 | 2.40 | 4.31 |
At 44.7%, Winquest had a truly exceptional August strikeout rate, but Worley also excelled at 43.9%. Three others were in the solid 32% to 37% range. At the low end of the strikeout spectrum are Fajardo (23.1%) and Shuster (27.6%).
Worley and Fajardo were the stingiest finalists in issuing walks, at 7.3% and 7.7%, respectively. Four others were in the 10% to 13% range, with Hjerpe’s 21.5% walk rate a concern.
Not surprisingly, Worley and Winquest also posted the leading strikeout minus walk percentage of 36.6% and 31.6%, respectively. Doyle was next at a good 25.6%. This month, bringing up the K-BB percentage rear is the highest walk rate finalist, Hjerpe.
In strikeout to walk ratio, Worley was well on top at 6.0 to 1 and Hjerpe at the bottom at 1.6.
Winquest held opposing hitters to the lowest collective batting average, a microscopic .097. All finalists came in well under .200 except Fajardo at .274.
However, in his defense, Fajardo also had a very high BABIP (batting average on balls in play), at .365. It was the highest among finalists. At the other end, no finalists had unsustainable low BABIPs below .200, but Winquest (.200) was right on the line, followed by Shuster (.222).
FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching, puts these August results into focus. Five of the seven finalists had a FIP more than one run per nine innings higher than their ERA and several are two or more runs higher.
The two with the smallest ERA-FIP gap are Fajardo (2.53 to 2.68) and Crossland (2.74 to 3.34).
However, the lowest FIP (1.96) is from the finalist who also had the lowest ERA. That is Winquest.
Considering everything, Cade Winquest is The Cardinal Nation’s August Pitcher of the Month.
Winquest logged the lowest ERA, FIP, WHIP and batting average against, highest strikeout percentage and second highest strikeout to walk ratio from among the August finalists.
About the winner
Winquest was slated to be The Cardinal Nation’s 20th ranked prospect coming into 2026. However, the right-hander was left unprotected in the December Rule 5 Draft and was selected by the New York Yankees.
He made the Yankees’ 26-man roster coming out of spring training. Once the regular season began, Winquest was asked to warm up several times in the bullpen, but he was never called upon to pitch for New York. Winquest went unclaimed off waivers and was returned to the Cardinals on April 13.
Overall, with Memphis in 2026, the 26-year-old went 3-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 games, striking out 57 over 39 2/3 innings. His team-leading 12.93 SO/9 and 35.7 K% are both single-season career highs.
Just as did July’s winner, Quinn Mathews, Winquest made his MLB debut to close his big month. On August 29, Cade threw two scoreless innings against Pittsburgh at Busch Stadium.
How July’s winners fared in August
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Tanner Franklin as their July Pitcher of the Month across the system, whereas our choice was Mathews, as noted. Both went on to spend at least part of August at a new level. Franklin made five starts, four with Springfield, while Mathews made four starts for St. Louis along with two starts back with Memphis.
During the month, Franklin had a 3.51 ERA in 25 2/3 innings. He fanned 32 and walked eight.
Mathews made one start for the Cardinals to open the month and came back later for three more as a full member of the rotation. With St. Louis in August, the lefty had a 5.08 ERA to go with 20 strikeouts and eight walks in 19 2/3 innings.
What is next?
The Cardinals organization should name their selections as August Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
Related article
The Cardinal Nation August 2026 Player of the Month – Rainiel Rodriguez
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