photo: Jacob Odle (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
With the lowest FIP, most strikeouts, second highest strikeout rate and fourth lowest ERA despite the second highest BABIP among finalists, Jacob Odle compiled the top overall pitching performance in the St. Louis Cardinals system in May.
It is time to select The Cardinal Nation’s May Pitcher of the Month. This article covers pitchers across all levels 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 May. 54 of 83 active pitchers made the first cut. To reach the list of 10 finalists, an ERA below 2.50 was required. The group consists of six starters and four relievers.
Two allowed just one earned run all month and had ERA’s below 0.88. Two others had strong ERAs between 1.20 and 1.25. In total, six generated ERAs under 1.55. But as always, there is more to our process than just selecting the pitcher with the lowest ERA.
The finalists represent all four full-season levels and the one short-season rookie level active during the month, from the Florida Complex League up through Triple-A Memphis. The first place Redbirds lead the pack with three finalists, with the other three full-season levels featuring two finalists each. The other finalist represents the FCL.
Counting Stats
In the following table, the finalists are listed in ascending ERA order.
| May pitchers | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
| Jesús García | PB/FCL | 1 | 0 | 0.82 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.27 |
| Dylan Driessen | PB | 1 | 1 | 0.87 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 0.87 |
| Max Rajcic | Mem | 2 | 0 | 1.20 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 0.80 |
| Jacob Odle | Peo/PB | 1 | 1 | 1.25 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 21.2 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 34 | 1.25 |
| Jan Cabrera | FCL | 0 | 1 | 1.32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 13.2 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 1.46 |
| Jack Findlay | Spr | 3 | 0 | 1.54 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 11.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.94 |
| Blake Aita | Peo | 1 | 0 | 2.05 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 23 | 1.00 |
| Mason Molina | Spr | 1 | 0 | 2.25 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 21 | 1.38 |
| Brycen Mautz | Mem | 0 | 1 | 2.37 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 1.32 |
| Hunter Dobbins | Mem | 0 | 0 | 2.45 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 20 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 1.14 |
20-year-old reliever Jesus Garcia utterly dominated FCL hitters, including not allowing a run in five rookie-ball outings, but the right-hander has not fared as well since joining more age-appropriate Palm Beach.
The finalist-high 34 strikeouts (and one off a share of the system lead) in 21 1/3 innings by Jacob Odle between Palm Beach and Peoria catches one’s eye. However, his 13 walks tied Springfield’s Mason Molina for the most among finalists.
Palm Beach reliever Dylan Driessen’s 0.87 ERA is second lowest, though his innings count barely crossed the minimum line at 10 1/3. Max Rajcic at 1.20 and Odle at 1.25 also had exceptional ERAs during May.
FCL’s Jan Cabrera at 1.32 and Springfield’s Jack Findlay at 1.54 also completed the month under 2.00.
The next four finalists had ERAs over 2.00 – Peoria’s Blake Aita, Molina and Memphis teammates Brycen Mautz and Hunter Dobbins. Mautz and Rajcic are repeat finalists from April.
Four relievers logged May WHIPs under 1.00 – Garcia, Driessen, Rajcic and Findlay.
Advanced stats
Here are additional statistics from the 10 finalists in ascending FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) sequence.
| May pitchers | Age | IP | K% | BB% | K/BB | BAA | BABIP | WHIP | ERA | FIP |
| Jacob Odle | 22 | 21.2 | 14.1% | 5.4% | 2.6 | 0.189 | 0.350 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 2.41 |
| Dylan Driessen | 21 | 10.1 | 13.9% | 1.7% | 8.0 | 0.194 | 0.316 | 0.87 | 0.87 | 2.45 |
| Jack Findlay | 23 | 11.2 | 10.0% | 3.1% | 3.3 | 0.175 | 0.259 | 0.94 | 1.54 | 2.51 |
| Jesús García | 20 | 11 | 25.0% | 2.8% | 9.0 | 0.057 | 0.077 | 0.27 | 0.82 | 2.62 |
| Max Rajcic | 24 | 15 | 11.4% | 2.4% | 4.8 | 0.154 | 0.219 | 0.80 | 1.20 | 2.66 |
| Jan Cabrera | 21 | 13.2 | 9.9% | 4.0% | 2.5 | 0.264 | 0.368 | 1.46 | 1.32 | 3.19 |
| Blake Aita | 23 | 22 | 9.4% | 2.9% | 3.3 | 0.192 | 0.264 | 1.00 | 2.05 | 3.54 |
| Brycen Mautz | 24 | 19 | 11.4% | 3.8% | 3.0 | 0.233 | 0.319 | 1.32 | 2.37 | 3.79 |
| Mason Molina | 22 | 16 | 11.8% | 7.3% | 1.6 | 0.161 | 0.257 | 1.38 | 2.25 | 3.90 |
| Hunter Dobbins | 26 | 22 | 5.7% | 2.1% | 2.8 | 0.238 | 0.265 | 1.14 | 2.45 | 4.25 |
Following Garcia’s amazing 25% K rate are Odle at 14.1% and Driessen at 13.9%. Others with double-digit K rates are Molina, Mautz, Rajcic and Findlay. Dobbins’ 5.7% rate stood out at the other end of the strikeout spectrum.
The stingiest finalists in issuing walks are Driessen at 1.7% and Dobbins at 2.1%. Molina issued free passes to 7.3% of his batters faced, followed by Odle at 5.4%.
It is impossible to ignore Garcia’s strikeout to walk ratio of 9.0, though Driessen at 8.0 is right behind him. Bringing up the K:BB ratio rear was Molina at 1.6, followed by Cabrera at 2.5.
Seven of the 10 pitchers held opposing hitters to a collective batting average under .200, with Garcia at .057 most exceptional.
Most unlucky in BABIP (batting average on balls in play) were Cabrera at .368 and Odle at .350. Garcia’s .077 is beyond amazing but will be almost impossible to replicate in the future.
FIP or fielding independent pitching puts these May results in a different light. Every finalist has a FIP over more than one run per nine innings higher than his ERA.
However, only two finalists met both the below-2.50 ERA bar and below-2.50 FIP bar. They are Odle and Driessen, with the two lowest May FIPs. Either of the two would be a worthy choice as TCN’s Player of the Month.
Considering all results, Odle edged Driessen as our selection of The Cardinal Nation’s May Pitcher of the Month.
During the month, Odle posted the lowest FIP, most strikeouts, second highest strikeout rate and fourth lowest ERA despite the second highest BABIP among finalists.
About the winner
Odle, 22, was selected by Cardinals in the 14th round of the 2023 draft from Orange Coast Community College after transferring from UC-Irvine. After his brief professional debut in 2023, the San Diego native underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2024 season.
The right-hander returned to official action in May 2025. Logging 51 1/3 innings between the FCL and Palm Beach, Odle had a 5.92 ERA in 17 starts last season.
Back with Palm Beach to open 2026, Odle struck out six or more in seven of his nine appearances. His 51 Ks in 33 innings (13.9 K/9) ranked fifth in the Florida State League at the time of his May 26 promotion to Peoria.
In his first start with the Chiefs, Odle might have had the jitters. He went 3 2/3 one-run innings in his High-A debut, striking out three but walking six.
Odle is currently The Cardinal Nation’s 30th ranked prospect and is rising fast.
How last month’s winners fared
Though the St. Louis Cardinals selected Yhoiker Fajardo as their April Pitcher of the Month across the system, our choice was Ty Van Dyke. The latter had dominated at Low-A Palm Beach and on May 18, the 22-year-old right-hander received a well-deserved promotion to Peoria.
During May, Van Dyke made five starts, three for the Beach Birds and two for the Chiefs. He gave up six runs in 13 2/3 innings with Palm Beach. Van Dyke had a rough Midwest League debut, charged with three runs in 3 2/3 innings, but followed that with six shutout innings on two hits. A negative is a season high five walks and just one strikeout.
His overall results for the month were a 3.47 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks in 23 1/3 innings/five starts.
With Peoria, Fajardo made five May starts, going 21 1/3 innings with a 4.64 ERA. He struck out 34 and walked just six.
Companion article
Peoria outfielder Won-Bin Cho is our top hitter in the Cardinals system for the month of May. Check out his results and those of our other finalists here:
The Cardinal Nation May 2026 Player of the Month – Won-Bin Cho
What is next?
The Cardinals organization should also name their own selections as May Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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