Cooper

Hjerpe

Hjerpe finished up his year with 3 1/3 scoreless innings against the Pirates on Thursday. He had a 4.38 ERA and a 15/9 K/BB over 12 1/3 innings in his four appearances with the Cardinals. He threw 54 innings overall after returning from Tommy John, so he’ll probably be on something of an innings limit next year if the Cardinals treat him as a starter. With his unusual delivery, he might be more interesting as a once-around-the-lineup guy in middle relief.

Hjerpe appeared in only two innings and showed little command of the strike zone with four walks. The lack of control was his undoing as the walks led to one run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth inning. Hjerpe threw 52 pitches and only 25 for strikes. He should continue to follow Kyle Leahy as a bulk pitcher. Hjerpe is lined up to face the Nationals at home next week.

Hjerepe needed just 54 pitches to get through four. That’s 20 fewer pitches than he threw in his last two Triple-A starts, but the Cardinals still probably had four innings down as his limit; he hasn’t exceeded that total in 16 appearances since returning from Tommy John. Hjerpe averaged 90.6 mph with his fastball today, but his big sweeper was very effective, producing a 47 percent CSW and no hard-hit balls. Hjerpe will probably continue to piggyback off of Kyle Leahy’s starts for now.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for Hjerpe, the Cardinals’ first-round selection (22nd overall) from the 2022 draft class. He has made 15 starts across four minor league levels this season, registering a 3.00 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and a 61/32 K/BB ratio over 42 innings. He could be an interesting multi-inning weapon out of the bullpen for the Cardinals in September.

Baez made a major statement this spring, slashing .333/.417/.762 with three homers, five RBI and a 6/2 K/BB ratio in 24 plate appearances, leading fantasy managers to clamor for his inclusion on Cardinals’ Opening Day roster. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. He should debut at some point during the 2026 campaign, but that makes him a difficult stash in mixed leagues to begin the season.

Baez is the biggest name to know for fantasy purposes after putting together a breakthrough campaign last season where he blossomed into one of the premier slugging prospects in the game, slashing .287/.384/.500 with 20 homers and 54 stolen bases across 117 games between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. It’s only a matter of time before he’s making some real noise as a power/speed combo threat in St. Louis.

Hjerpe, 24, has been limited to 93 innings since being drafted 22nd overall in the 2022 draft. He had a 3.27 ERA and a 76/28 K/BB over 52 1/3 innings in 19 starts between high-A and Double-A last year.

Hjerpe, 23, posted a 3.35 ERA and a 56/20 K/BB over 11 starts and 37 2/3 innings. The left-hander underwent elbow surgery last year, so the 22-year-old has been brought along slowly in 2024 to manage his innings and expectations. He could be a part of the St. Louis rotation at this point in 2025.

Kloffenstein was always an extreme longshot to crack the Cardinals’ Opening Day rotation — even with the injury to Sonny Gray — so his demotion doesn’t come as a surprise. It also won’t be surprising to see him debut with the big league club at some point during the upcoming season, Kloffenstein registered a 3.16 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a 140/55 K/BB ratio across 128 innings in 26 appearances (25 starts) between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Memphis in 2023.

Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that Hjerpe will receive a $3,182,200 signing bonus -- which is the full slot value for the 22nd selection in the draft. While his overall ceiling isn’t as high as other collegiate hurlers selected in the first round, Hjerpe should be one of the first from this draft class to reach the big leagues.