Cardinals' 2022 first-rounder ramping up well after elbow surgery

PEORIA, Ariz. -- It was just one inning in relief in the middle of a 13-4 blowout win for the Scottsdale Scorpions against the Peoria Javelinas on Wednesday afternoon, but for Cardinals left-hander Cooper Hjerpe, it was more than just a clean Arizona Fall League frame.

Hjerpe was St. Louis' first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2022, a Golden Spikes Award finalist after a stellar junior season as Oregon State's ace. His combination of stuff, command and deception made him seem like the type of college performer who could move quickly through a system and help a big league rotation out sooner rather than later. A red-hot May with High-A Peoria certainly made it seem like the No. 7 Cardinals prospect could earn a promotion to Double-A and jump on the fast track.

But after tossing six shutout innings on May 23, Hjerpe didn't throw another competitive pitch until September because he required surgery to remove loose cartilage from his left elbow. He made two short outings in the final month of the season and is continuing to make up for some of the lost time in short stints here this fall.

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"You don't really realize how bad an injury can hurt your career until it actually happens to you," Hjerpe said. "Luckily, it was only four months for me. Tommy John is a year and some change. It's hard, it's tough, but you have to stay mentally ready and grind through it."

Following Wednesday's hitless frame, Hjerpe has been unscored upon in four of his six outings, racking up 12 strikeouts while giving up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings this fall. The results are somewhat secondary for the 22-year-old, as he's really just trying to get back into the flow of pitching in actual game situations.

"Right now, it's just a ramp-up, that's why I'm coming out of the bullpen," said Hjerpe, who has made six relief outings this fall. "Next Spring Training, I'll still be starting. I missed four months and threw 40 innings. This just eating up innings, getting in that competitive nature again and feeling what it's like to play ball in October and November."

Much of Hjerpe's success comes from his ability to throw four average-or-better pitches for strikes coming from a lower slot and funky, deceptive crossfire delivery. A scout in attendance at Wednesday's game who saw Hjerpe pitch in college felt his trademark deception, slot and release point appear to be in place but that his arm life and extension aren't quite back to Oregon State levels. The southpaw admitted he's still working through that process of finding it consistently, though it's all clicked at times.

"That happens throughout rehab too," Hjerpe said. "You start to feel certain things that you did when you were on top and on your game. There's a few things mechanically that are different, but I think that's more of an offseason thing.

"For the most part, it feels the exact same as when I did in college. Getting that feel back and being that funky again without having to internally think about it when you're on the mound is a big part of where I've gotten up to now."

There was definite relief when Hjerpe learned his elbow trouble was a loose body and not a torn ligament. An injury of that nature might have caused him and the Cardinals to rethink the efficacy of his unorthodox delivery. Instead, he's sticking with what got him here and trying to put the injury in his rearview mirror. Doing it one inning at a time every few days is definitely different, and while Hjerpe clearly still views himself as a future member of the Cardinals' rotation, he hasn't minded the one-and-done mentality he's had to adopt this fall.

"It's definitely a lot different than starting," he said. "On start days, you'd have a certain day that you'd go and you'd have a routine the next six, or five, or whatever it was. I think the main thing for me in the Fall League coming out of the 'pen is finding that routine that I can stick to, coming out of the 'pen on days you don't even know when you're throwing. That's a big difference.

"I like it. One-inning stints are cool. You go out there, throw as hard as you can and get out of there. As a starter, you try to keep your heart rate down, when you're coming out of the bullpen for one inning, it's kind of out of the picture."