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.
