Whatever Comes Next, Jacob Odle Wants To “Throw That Rock”

Entering his last start of the 2026 season, Jacob Odle was nine strikeouts away from 140. 

“I wanted it so bad,” he said, coveting the seasonal milestone. 

He’d split the year between the Single-A and High-A affiliates for the St. Louis Cardinals, but his closing start would cap the best season of his professional career. 

It didn’t take long for his wishes to become reality.

“When I got it in the fourth, I was like, ‘Damn! I just got it, and I got a whole other inning to work with.’ So I talked to my pitching coach, and we were like, ‘Let it all out, just empty the tank.’ It’s hard to go out on a better bang than that.” 

Odle only needed 4.2 innings to reach his goal. He’d finish the season with 143 strikeouts, notching 12 on the day. 

Still, long before he was tearing it up for the Cardinals, he was just a kid, waiting for his shot. 

Odle, 22, was selected in the 14th round by St. Louis in 2023. He’s been playing baseball for as long as he can remember. A journey that started at three years old and almost ended in college. 

At the end of this season, after 2026 draft-day updates, Odle is 21st on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 30 Cardinals prospects. One of the mentors who’s been with him every step of the way is a former Cardinal and Royal who played 14 decorated seasons. 

“I played for Mike Sweeney forever. He’s like a second dad to me,” said Odle. 

Sweeney coached Odle’s youth teams and taught him to be the best version of himself, sending him down the baseball rabbit hole. 

“[He] really established my belief in playing at a higher level,” Odle recalled. 

After learning early on what it would take to become a professional baseball player, a young Odle entered high school with big league dreams. Even so, baseball has a way of derailing expectations, and Odle’s freshman year made it clear: This wasn’t going to be easy. 

“I got to high school [and] was hurt my freshman year; I didn’t play that well anyway,” he said. 

Then, in Odle’s sophomore year, he became his high school’s budding closer, leading to his best season yet. He jumped up to varsity and commanded the back end of the bullpen. 

Unfortunately, the following season wasn’t as promised for Odle – or really anyone. 

In a shortened junior season, Odle’s momentum and development were stalled. 

“My junior year [wasn’t] so hot,” he recalled. “That was COVID, you know. We played a couple of games. I threw okay. It was my first year as a starter; I kind of struggled, and then going into my senior year, [it was] kind of the same thing.”

Odle left high school unrefined and full of upside. The coaches at the University of California, Irvine saw that upside, and took a chance. 

“I went to UCI. I was playing okay, and then I forgot how to throw a strike, and all my velo went with it,” he said. 

Odle had pitched himself into quite the jam. Baseball is a feel game, and after losing feel for his at-times electrifying stuff, the closer-turned-starter had hit a wall. 

“I started questioning whether or not I really wanted to play the game anymore,” he said. “I decided to give myself one more chance by going the JUCO route. If I could figure it out, I’d figure it out. If I didn’t, you know, I’d figure something else [out]. So I ended up going to OCC.”

Orange Coast College, in Costa Mesa, California, is where Odle found himself as a pitcher. 

During his tenure at OCC, Odle pitched one season, and his ERA didn’t reflect the kind of player he could be. The strikeouts, however, told a different story. 

Odle fanned a whopping 13.81 batters per nine innings, perfectly setting him up for his next test in the MLB Draft League. 

“In the draft league, that’s like when I really figured stuff out,” Odle said. “I just hunkered down and started throwing a little more strikes; the velocity went up, the movement went up. I became an actual dude.” 

Odle’s shiny 2.03 ERA in the MLB Draft League, coupled with 29 strikeouts in a mere 13.1 innings, had scouts gleaming. 

The St. Louis Cardinals had seen enough to lock him in as the organization’s 14th-round selection in the 2023 draft. Since climbing the ladder to minor league baseball, Odle has noticed a few differences. 

“It’s wicked, man,” he said, referencing his minor league journey. “It’s different, but it’s also very similar. The facilities are going to be relatively better. I mean, depending on the [school] you’re at, like there’s obviously going to be some Division I schools that are going to be nicer than minor league facilities. That’s just how it goes, you know. Those schools just have so much money, but I will say it is a lot of fun. And you know, at the end of the day, we are getting paid to play a children’s game.”

That same grateful perspective carried Odle through a tough start to his pro career. 

Right after he was drafted, Odle managed two innings in rookie ball. Following his brief intro, he went under the knife and lost the entire 2024 campaign. 

When he returned, it took some time to find his footing. Tommy John, despite so many medical advancements, remains an individualized procedure. No two arms are the same, and Odle’s took a season to recuperate. 

In 2025, he rejoined the Cardinals’ rookie ball and Single-A affiliates for 51.2 innings and a 5.92 ERA. The numbers weren’t where anyone wanted them – except the strikeouts. Even in a year in which Odle was building strength, he struck out 12 batters per nine. 

Luckily, Odle’s novel timeline matched the organizational takeover of new Cardinals POBO Chaim Bloom. 

Bloom laid out part of his mentality while visiting the broadcast booth at Double-A Springfield earlier this season.  

“[If] you start putting schedules on things, you’re gonna make a mistake one way or another,” Bloom said. “To me, you think about the work; you don’t think about the schedule. You just put your head down and get after it every day, with whatever you can do to advance yourself towards your goals.”

He continued, “That’s what we ask of the players, and it’s what we need to do ourselves as an organization.” 

Since taking over the Cardinals, Bloom has hired a new development staff, and Odle has noticed the difference between putting his head down and getting after it. 

“The new staff has been great,” Odle said. “I mean, it’s been just like a crazy difference between this staff and the old one. I loved our old coaches, but from an actual development standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than these guys. They know what they’re talking about. They have a plan written out for you, and you know they’re always coming at you with ideas and ways to get better.”

Whatever ideas they threw Odle’s way seem to have landed, as he finished 2026 in the clouds, high on his best professional season to date. The back of his baseball card reads: 96 innings, a 3.19 ERA, 143 strikeouts, a 1.39 WHIP, and 13.4 K/9 for 2026. 

When Odle reflects on the differences between his last two seasons, the comparison is a yawning chasm. 

“I think last year, I was just so worried about the way I was feeling and a lot of extracurriculars that were out of my control,” he said. “Versus this year, where I came into the year and I knew I felt good; I knew I was healthy; I knew I was stronger. It gave me a little more peace of mind to go out there and just let it eat.”

A good portion of Odle’s maturity as a professional athlete also came in the dirty work nobody sees. 

“Even like pregame stuff-wise, I had a much more established routine. I knew what I needed to do to get myself ready,” he said. “I knew what I needed to do pregame, like mentally, to be ready, and just having these different experiences throughout the year kind of helped me settle into a true routine and figure out how I actually want to attack my day when it comes to my day.” 

Odle’s on-the-field adjustments weren’t as complicated. On the mound, he can just “let it eat.” 

That aggressive mentality translated into a plan of attack for Odle to be more frequent in the zone. 

“I thought I did a pretty good job of putting guys away this year,” he said. “It was more so like the strike throwing and getting to the put-away counts is what I kind of struggled with. But on the contrary, a lot of good came out of this year. The velo jumped back up, and movement plots got better.” 

Although ball four remains a concern moving forward, Odle’s strikeout stuff is impossible to ignore.

Now, he heads into this offseason not only looking to remain in the zone with his high-octane heater and devastating curveball, but also with a new toy that the Cardinals have him experimenting with. 

“They started playing with new changeup grips and stuff just because my changeup wasn’t getting a lot of swing and miss. It was just kind of there,” he said. “So that was a focus for the last two weeks, going into the offseason – just play around with some changeup grips, find something that’s comfortable, and then kind of work on that.” 

If Odle adds a changeup, it could help him stay a starting pitcher long-term. 

Some scouts, including those at MLB Pipeline, have concerns about his volatility in the rotation and feel he profiles better as a relief option. 

He definitely has the stuff for later innings, but to Odle, it’s all just background noise. 

“I love starting. I love having my own day,” he said. “I love being able to go out there and just have that day be me, you know, and just get to fight for my guys for five-plus innings. But I mean, at the end of the day, even if I get moved into a bullpen role, it’s kind of like one of those things where it’s, you know, whatever, you make the best out of it.” 

Odle, unlike most starters who shift to a relief role, already has plenty of experience. 

“I was a closer in college. I was a closer in the draft league. I thought I did pretty well at that,” he said. “But you know, at the end of the day, I’m just blessed to be able to go out there and pitch. So obviously, I would prefer starting. I think that’s mostly what everybody else prefers, but you know, as long as I get to throw that rock, I’m happy.” 

Now, the Cardinals have a decision to make. Odle is set to be Rule 5 draft-eligible this offseason, meaning that St. Louis will need to weigh whether to protect his electric stuff with a 40-man roster spot or risk losing him to another club.  

Not too long ago, Odle thought his career might end in college. Now he’s made peace with his future. Starter, reliever, it doesn’t matter. 

As long as he can keep throwing that rock, he’s happy.