Making his first Class AA start after receiving a promotion from Class High-A on Tuesday, Cardinals prospect Cooper Hjerpe allowed five runs on four hits and walked four batters in 2 2/3 innings in his debut with Springfield. Hjerpe, 23, threw 73 pitches and struck out three batters before he exited Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to Northwest Arkansas with runners on first and second base and two outs in the third inning.
The left-hander and former first-round pick from the 2022 MLB draft needed 27 pitches to get through the first inning. Ten of his first-inning pitches missed the strike zone. A one-out walk and a double after an eight-pitch at-bat against Northwest’s Luca Tresh plated the game’s first run.
After Hjerpe stuck out two batters in a scoreless second inning, he allowed a single and back-to-back walks to load the bases with one out in the third. A 1-2 changeup from the 23-year-old was sent to center field and one-hopped the wall for a bases-clearing double with one out in the frame. Hjerpe retired the next batter he faced following the double but had his outing end after a four-pitch walk to Northwest Arkansas’s Leonel Vera.
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Before his promotion to Double-A, Hjerpe sported a 3.35 ERA and struck out 56 batters in 37 2/3 innings while with High-A Peoria. He walked 20 batters and kept hitters to a .189 average in his first 11 starts.
Here are other Cardinals prospect performances:
Outfielder Chase Davis, Class Low-A Palm Beach: The Cardinals’ 2023 first-round pick started in center field in both games of Palm Beach’s doubleheader against Daytona and combined to go four-four-six with two doubles, a home run, and three RBIs. Davis’s first hit on Wednesday was a two-run double he lined to center field in the fifth inning of the PB-Cards’ 4-3 loss in Game 1 of the doubleheader. The 22-year-old doubled to right field in the seventh inning and represented the potential go-ahead run, but did not score. Hitting from the sixth spot in Palm Beach’s lineup for the second consecutive game, Davis singled in the second inning and hit a solo home run to right-center field in the sixth. Davis's homer run was his fourth in 170 at-bats this year. It broke a 1-1 tie and helped Palm Beach to a 3-2 win. The four-hit day improved Davis to a .206 average. He’s doubled five times, driven in 10 runs, and owns a .310/.375/.690 slash line in his last eight games.
Right-handed pitcher Sem Robberse, Class AAA Memphis: Looking to bounce back from his most recent outing, which came in relief after big leaguers Steven Matz and Giovanny Gallegos made rehab appearances with Memphis, Robberse allowed four runs on three hits and walked five batters in five innings in Memphis’s 5-4 loss to Norfolk. Robberse began his start in Norfolk by completing three scoreless innings and striking out five of the first 12 batters he faced. But a 91.9 mph cutter left high-and-in to Norfolk’s Hudson Haskin was belted for a three-run home run in the fourth inning after Robberse began the frame by allowing a leadoff single and a one-out walk. Robberse's loaded the bases in the fifth by issuing two walks and allowing a double. He escaped the inning by allowing one run on a sacrifice fly. The 22-year-old did not return to the mound to pitch the sixth. Robberse’s ERA has jumped to 4.65 as he’s allowed 23 runs in his last 24 innings after starting the year with a 2.64 ERA in his first eight starts.
Outfielder Travis Honeyman, Class Low-A Palm Beach: Honeyman was added to Palm Beach’s roster and batted leadoff in Game 1 of the PB-Cards’ doubleheader. From the leadoff spot and as Palm Beach's designated hitter, Honeyman went two-for-three with a pair of singles in his Low-A debut. The former third-round pick from the Cardinals’ 2023 draft class did not appear in a minor league game last year because of a shoulder injury suffered while at Boston College. He opened the year on the injured list and did not get into a professional game until May 29. Honeyman, 22, went nine-for-20 (.450) with four doubles and five walks in eight games with the FCL Cardinals before joining Palm Beach.
Right-handed pitcher Inohan Paniagua, Class High-A Peoria: The 24-year-old threw five scoreless innings and struck out eight batters as Peoria’s starter. He did not walk a batter in the outing. Paniagua’s eight strikeouts gave him 16 in his last nine innings. During Peoria’s 6-2 win over South Bend, Paniagua surrendered two singles to the first two batters he saw to begin the fifth but worked out of the jam by inducing a flyout and notching back-to-back swinging strikeouts vs. the last two hitters he faced. He’s allowed one run over that span and lowered his ERA from 4.02 to 3.47. He’s completed 49 1/3 innings across 12 outings (seven starts) and has a 3.66 ERA as a starter.Â