Grading the St. Louis Cardinals' last 5 first round draft picks

2022 - Cooper Hjerpe

The last two drafts are not really fair to grade yet. Most players do not make it to the Major Leagues within two years of being drafted, especially now with the draft being even later in the summer than it has been historically.

Cooper Hjerpe was a really interesting arm when he was drafted out of Oregon State. While it was another college arm who wasn't necessarily expected to be an elite prospect, his upside was much more intriguing than the aforementioned Michael McGreevy.

With a deceptive arm slot and pitching style, his low-90s fastball and intriguing off-speed mix help his stuff to play up even more. something that Cardinals' hitters noted themselves when they saw pieces of Hjerpe during Spring Training.

Hjerpe's first professional season was cut short due to injury, but overall, he was highly effective in High-A, posting a 3.51 ERA with a 29.8 K%, showing that his stuff can produce swing-and-miss at a rate that few other Cardinals' pitching prospects could.

In 2024, Hjerpe has taken off even more, posting a 3.27 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 52.1 innings between High-A and Double-A. He's once again found himself on the injured list though, so hopes are that he's not going to miss significant time once again.

The Cardinals have limited Hjerpe's pitch count this year due to that injury risk, so even though he's been electric when he's on the mound, he hasn't been given a significant shot to prove himself as a starter. Still, I can't understate how good he's looked. Right before he went on the injured list, Hjerpe had put together two straight starts of no-hit ball before being pulled from the game due to his pitch limit.

Hjerpe has middle of the rotation upside and you can dream on him being a bit more if everything comes together for him. A lot of prospect gurus like what Hjerpe's game could become, and it's not just because he looks like Chris Sale on the mound.

At the moment, Hjerpe looks like a really solid pick by the Cardinals, but this grade will hinge on Hjerpe's health and how quickly the Cardinals begin to take the kid gloves off of his development track.

Grade: B