Cardinals' prospect Cooper Hjerpe uses funky delivery to his advantage

Left-handed pitching prospect Cooper Hjerpe took the next step forward in his professional career, as the former first-round pick was added to the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training list as a non-roster invitee. While he faces an uphill battle to crack the Opening Day roster, Hjerpe is certainly building a minor league track record to at least warrant consideration.

Ever since coming into the scouting spotlight after a great career at Oregon State University, Hjerpe has been noticed not only for his command of the strike zone, but also for his low three-quarter arm slot on his delivery. With a release point that "funky," it is not very common to see a pitcher with the kind of control that Hjerpe has demonstrated with his mechanics. In a prospect interview on the Birds on the Farm podcast, the 23-year-old said the quirky throwing motion is just natural and that he has thrown like that his whole life.

As a senior at OSU, Hjerpe pitched himself into consideration for the Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the nation's best amateur player. During that 2022 season, he went 11-2 in 103.1 innings and tallied 161 strikeouts against only 23 walks. The Cardinals loved what they saw and took Hjerpe 22nd overall in the draft, but he did not pitch professionally after the selection.

In his debut season, the team sent Hjerpe to Peoria, where he was enjoying a solid first year of professional baseball. At the season's halfway point, the lefty kept his strikeout numbers high, with 49 strikeouts in 39.1 innings, but did see his command falter a bit, as he reached his OSU walk total in a third of the innings. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow but did return at the end of the year before finishing the season in the Arizona Fall League.

Hjerpe again began the 2024 season at Single-A but received the call-up to Double-A Springfield after a strong May, where he struck out 34 batters in 22.1 innings. As is the case with many young starters, the team did not stretch the prospect deep into starts, as he tallied those innings over six appearances. In Springfield, Hjerpe threw a total of 14.2 innings and only gave up six hits while keeping his strikeout rate strong. However, elbow issues resurfaced after one appearance in July, and the team decided it was best to end his season after he was placed on the injured list. In the same interview with Kareem and Sandy, Hjerpe mentioned that this was the first real-time he was injured but he understood the Cardinals' patience with his development and looks forward to a healthy season in 2025.

The 23-year-old had a decent fastball in college, sitting in the 91-93mph range, but he was more in the upper 80s or low 90s after his two bouts of elbow injuries. His slider and changeup both grade as above-average offerings, so if he can show sustained health, the Cardinals will most likely continue to develop him as a starter in the minor leagues. Beyond his durability, Hjerpe has walked more batters than he did during his college years, so the team will want to see if his command issues are related to the arm injuries before sounding the alarm bell.

Cooper Hjerpe has consistently been near the top of the Cardinals' prospect boards since his debut season. If he can show he is back to full health and get a couple extra ticks on his fastball, the lefty could turn some more heads at camp. While he is a long shot to make the rotation, a strong camp could get his doubters back on board if he can show continued health and command.