The Cardinals introduced that pitching prospect Cooper Hjerpe has undergone Tommy John surgical procedure. The left-hander will miss the whole 2025 season and gained’t be anticipated again till halfway by the 2026 marketing campaign.
Hjerpe, 24, is among the membership’s high pitching prospects. He was chosen within the first spherical, twenty second general, within the 2022 draft. He obtained a signing bonus of just below $3.2MM. He has since posted some intriguing minor league numbers, with loads of strikeouts although additionally numerous walks. He logged 93 1/3 innings over 2023 and 2024, splitting his time between Excessive-A and Double-A. He allowed 3.37 earned runs per 9, punching out 32.8% of batters confronted but in addition giving out free passes at a 13.7% clip.
His elbow well being, or lack thereof, has been part of the trajectory in that point. He required surgical procedure to take away free our bodies from that elbow in 2023, limiting him to only eight begins that 12 months. In 2024, his remaining begin of the season was on July 2, with an elbow harm shutting him down from then on.
Golf equipment and pitchers typically desire to take non-surgical approaches to accidents for so long as they will, as going underneath the knife is such a prolonged time dedication and there aren’t any ensures {that a} participant will return to 100% effectiveness afterwards. However on this case, it might be prevented now not, so Hjerpe is now going to be on the shelf for some time.
Regardless of the restricted workload, Hjerpe is nicely regarded. Baseball America at the moment lists him because the #7 prospect within the Playing cards’ system, highlighting his distinctive sidearm supply as he throws an arsenal that features a fastball, curveball, cutter and changeup. Again in Could of final 12 months, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs had him within the #5 spot.
If Hjerpe have been wholesome right here in 2025, he seemingly would have returned to Double-A and will have pushed for a Triple-A promotion in some unspecified time in the future in the course of the season. All that must be kicked down the street now.
Some attention-grabbing choice factors will come this winter, as Hjerpe shall be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December. The Playing cards must resolve if it’s value giving him a 40-man spot by the Rule 5 safety deadline in November. He’s clearly an necessary prospect within the system however has a restricted monitor report and can nonetheless be rehabbing at the moment. Nonetheless, grabbing an injured pitcher within the Rule 5 isn’t unprecedented. In the newest iteration, the Blue Jays took Angel Bastardo from the Purple Sox whereas the Rays grabbed Nate Lavender from the Mets. Each of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgical procedures final summer time and will probably return later this 12 months.
Picture courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Pictures
