The St. Louis Cardinals may have hit their first big bump in the road this season. Entering Wednesday's series finale with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cardinals had lost three consecutive games for the first time since the end of April.The Cardinals have also lost two of their last three series, so there might be some cause for concern in St. Louis. But despite their loss in the Milwaukee series, there is one player who is taking a step forward.Left-hander Matthew Liberatore has watched his whiff rate climb by 11 percent over the month of April, and he even recorded 10 strikeouts in Monday's loss. Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN discussed what this could mean for the Cardinals in the future.Liberatore showing major improvementApr 25, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Matthew Liberatore (32) pitches against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images"The whiff rate prior to the month of May for him (was) 18 percent. The whiff rate in the month of May? 29 percent. That's what I want to dream on," Kiley said. "You look at the hard-hit rate, the barrel rates, all of that stuff, it's gone the opposite direction. Where the strikeout rate is going up, hard-hit rate, barrel rate is going down. That's what you want to see from your starting pitcher. I'm a believer in what we're seeing from Matthew Liberatore. He finally has a curveball where you can see what people have told you about previously, and it gets me excited, the possibility for what he could ultimately become."In this day and age, swing and miss is very important to have for starting pitchers. It plays well in the postseason, and while Liberatore's final line on Monday wasn't great, having allowed three runs over just five innings of work, he still managed to strike out a career high.If he can mix better whiff rates with longer and more efficient outings, the Cardinals may have something special on their hands with the young left-hander, and he could have the potential to become the team's next ace now that Sonny Gray is gone.The Cardinals need somebody that can generate swings and misses in their starting rotation. They haven't had much of it for a long time, and with Gray now elsewhere, Liberatore has a chance to step up and be that guy. He has shown a lot of signs of promise over the past month, and he is certainly trending upwards after a bit of a slow start to the season.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow