The Cardinals’ pitching depth has been stretched thin for weeks, and that has kept Cooper Hjerpe squarely on the radar.
Hjerpe, a former first-round pick, has been dealing in Triple-A Memphis. Through five starts, the left-hander owns a 0.95 ERA, and that kind of run has made him an obvious name in the conversation about help for St.
Louis. Derrick Goold of the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch even labeled Hjerpe a candidate for an August call-up while Hunter Dobbins and Andre Pallante were both on the Injured List.
Pallante’s return on Friday gave the rotation a small boost. He took the ball against the Colorado Rockies and worked five innings, allowing just one run as he continued his bounce-back season.
But the Cardinals still have reasons to keep looking for innings. Dobbins is out for the season, and Kyle Leahy’s workload is being watched closely.
That’s why Friday night’s development in Memphis caught attention. Hjerpe was supposed to start for Triple-A Memphis, but he was scratched late.
Cooper Hjerpe is a late scratch for Memphis tonight.Combine that with a Bobby Olson promotion and we are officially on 👀 https://t.co/zJzafSRYt3
So far, there’s been no promotion or official move from the Cardinals. Still, the situation is worth tracking.
Leahy is set to pitch Sunday, but he hasn’t gone more than four innings in an outing since Aug. 18.
In his last appearance, on Aug. 29 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he threw three innings, allowed one run, and looked sharp. Even so, he remains under close monitoring, and a piggyback setup with Hjerpe isn’t hard to imagine.
St. Louis finishes up its series against the Rockies on Sunday before opening a three-game set with the San Francisco Giants. The Cardinals haven’t announced their starters for that series yet.
It’s also possible the late scratch means nothing more than a workload decision for Hjerpe. For now, that remains part of the watch. But with the 25-year-old lefty throwing so well in Triple-A, a look in the majors would fit the Cardinals’ evaluation process, especially with a possible path toward the 2027 rotation in mind.
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