Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Shut down two more weeks
Rotowire
Hjerpe will remain shut down for two more weeks while dealing with a left elbow injury, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Hjerpe hasn't pitched since July 2 and with two more weeks of down time, it would be a surprise if he's ready for game action before September. He had surgery last August to remove a loose body from his elbow, but the exact nature of the injury isn't clear this time around. Hjerpe has posted a 3.27 ERA and 76:28 K:BB over 52.1 innings covering 15 starts between the High- and Double-A levels in 2024.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Sidelined at Double-A
Rotowire
Hjerpe was placed on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Springfield on July 9 with an undisclosed injury.
He exited his July 2 start after two scoreless innings (39 pitches) having struck out three while allowing two hits and one walk, so he may have suffered the injury in that outing. Hjerpe has 17 strikeouts over 12 scoreless frames across his three most recent starts at Double-A after giving up five earned runs in 2.2 frames in his first start after getting promoted from High-A Peoria.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Moving up to Double-A
Rotowire
The Cardinals promoted Hjerpe from High-A Peoria to Double-A Springfield on Tuesday.
Hjerpe earned the promotion after collecting a 3.35 ERA and 56:20 K:BB over 37.2 innings covering 11 starts. The Cardinals have been careful with the left-hander's workload after he had elbow surgery in 2023, as Hjerpe hasn't gone more than four innings or thrown more than 67 pitches in a start this season. It's possible the reins on the 23-year-old's restrictions will be loosened a bit now as he moves up a level.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Enjoying first big-league camp
Rotowire
Hjerpe may not see much action against opposing teams' starting lineups during Grapefruit League play, Brenden Schaeffer of First Alert 4 reports.
He struck out four and walked two over two scoreless innings in his first appearance of the spring, but Hjerpe is not high in the pecking order of young pitchers fighting for a big-league job or an early season promotion to the majors. The 6-foot-3 southpaw put up very impressive numbers in college thanks to a unique arm angle that allows all his pitches to play up. Hjerpe got off to a slow start in his pro debut, but he had a 1.54 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 23.1 innings over his final four starts before needing a cleanup procedure on his elbow. He made it back for the Arizona Fall League and worked as a reliever there, striking out 15 while walking six in 8.1 innings over seven appearances. Including the AFL, Hjerpe was able to log just 49.1 innings in 2023 after throwing 103.1 frames for Oregon State in 2022. Staying healthy and handling a starter's workload will be paramount this year, and if he does that, he could be an option in the big-league rotation in late 2024 or in 2025.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Back in action
Rotowire
Hjerpe (elbow) was activated from High-A Peoria's 7-day injured list Friday.
Hjerpe hadn't pitched since May 23 after undergoing elbow surgery to remove a loose body. The 22-year-old left-hander appears to have a chance to salvage some game action with Peoria to close out the 2023 season. He had a 3.66 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 49:23 K:BB over 39.1 innings prior to the injury.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Recovering from minor elbow surgery
Rotowire
Hjerpe is recovering from surgery to remove a loose body in his left elbow and is questionable to return this season, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
He last pitched May 23 for High-A Peoria, and as of Aug. 14, he was throwing from 120 feet at the Cardinals' spring training complex in Florida with a light bullpen session on tap. It's encouraging that this wasn't Tommy John surgery, but it's possible we won't see the left-hander back in game action until 2024. Hjerpe got off to a slow start in his pro debut, but he had a 1.54 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 23.1 innings over his four most recent starts.
Hjerpe (undisclosed) was placed on High-A Peoria's injured list Tuesday.
Hjerpe has had some issues with walks this year, posting a 49:23 K:BB over 39.1 innings with Peoria. While the nature of his injury wasn't revealed with the organization's announcement, it could have been a factor in his performance. He'll be down for at least a week while he recovers.
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Cardinals' Cooper Hjerpe: Too many walks at High-A
Rotowire
Hjerpe has a 7.50 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB through his first three professional starts with High-A Peoria.
The Cardinals' first-round pick in last year's draft, Hjerpe has missed plenty of bats in the early going, but his 15.5 percent walk rate is the primary reason he has struggled. Hjerpe, who was born in California, is also pitching in the Midwest League, which can have a challenging climate in April.
