Cardinals Select Four Players
The Cardinals added four prospects to their 40-man roster on Rule 5 protection day: Outfielder Joshua Baez, catcher Leonardo Bernal, and left-handers Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz. They needed to open one spot, so they designated reliever Jorge Alcala for assignment.
St. Louis signed Bernal as an international free agent in 2021. MLB.com ranks him 4th among the organization’s prospects. Bernal hit .270 with 10 home runs over 96 games at High-A in 2024, earning a bump to Double-A. He scuffled to a 64 wRC+ in a brief sample with Springfield. Bernal was back with the Double-A squad this past season. He put together a league-average performance in terms of wRC+, while chipping in 13 home runs and 13 steals. The 21-year-old has shown decent base-stealing prowess for a catcher, swiping 20 bags over the past two years.
The Cardinals selected Baez in the second round of the 2021 draft. He’s the team’s 11th-ranked prospect on MLB.com. A bloated strikeout rate held Baez back in his first few professional seasons, but he got the contact in check this past season. After three straight years with a strikeout rate above 34%, Baez trimmed it to 20.6% across two levels in 2025. He also showed a new level of power, reaching 20 home runs between High-A and Double-A. Baez had totaled 24 home runs in his previous four professional seasons. He also racked up 54 stolen bases this past year.
Hjerpe is one of the team’s top arms in the minors, but he’s currently on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in April. The lefty sits at 13th on MLB.com’s prospect list. Hjerpe was a first-rounder back in 2022. He posted a solid 3.27 ERA between High-A and Double-A in 2024. Hjerpe had a strikeout rate above 35% at both stops.
Mautz was taken in the second round back in 2022. He’s immediately jumped into a workhorse role as a professional, making at least 23 starts in all three of his seasons. Mautz struggled to a 5.18 ERA at High-A in 2024, but bounced back with his best season yet this past year. The lefty posted a 2.98 ERA with a career-best 28.6% strikeout rate across 114 2/3 innings at Double-A in 2025. The 24-year-old is a candidate to make starts at the big-league level at some point next season.
Alcala was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox back in August. He was knocked around in 15 appearances with the Cardinals, recording a 5.02 ERA. The 30-year-old had spent his entire MLB career with the Twins heading into 2025. He was dealt to Boston in June and made 19 appearances for the team before being designated for assignment and landing in St. Louis.
Cardinals’ Tekoah Roby Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Cardinals pitching prospect Tekoah Roby underwent Tommy John surgery last week, reports Katie Woo of The Athletic. He’s expected to miss not only the remainder of the current season but also the entire 2026 season as well.
It’s a brutal blow to the team’s prospect base. Roby has ranked among the Cardinals’ most promising young arms since he was acquired two years ago in the trade sending Jordan Montgomery to the Rangers, but he’d taken a considerable step forward this season. The 23-year-old opened the season with a brilliant 10-start run in his second stint at the Double-A level, pitching 47 innings with a 2.49 ERA, a 31% strikeout rate and a 6% walk rate. That earned him his first bump to Triple-A Memphis, where he started six more times and notched a 4.02 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and matching 6% walk rate.
Overall, Roby has pitched 78 1/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA between the Cardinals’ top two affiliates. Woo adds that the Cardinals, as part of their player development overhaul this season, had added a two-seamer to Roby’s repertoire and made changes to the shape and velocity of both his slider and changeup. The results were impressive, but those gains are now on hold after a second straight season with elbow troubles will prompt a major surgery.
It’s been a tough season for Cardinals pitching prospects. While McGreevy has remained healthy and now pitched his way into the rotation, many of the system’s other young arms have incurred notable setbacks. In addition to Roby, pitching prospects Cooper Hjerpe and Sem Robberse have both had Tommy John surgery this year. Hjerpe had his surgery in mid-April, and Robberse followed about a month later. Right-hander Tink Hence has missed most of the season due to a rib cage sprain. Lefty Quinn Mathews missed more than a month due to shoulder discomfort and has walked a staggering 21.3% of his opponents in 13 Triple-A starts when healthy.
The complications for the Cardinals extend beyond the obvious and straightforward setbacks in the development of several key young arms. Both Roby and Robberse are on the 40-man roster already. Hjerpe will need to be added this winter or else be left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft (where there’s plenty of precedent for a team selecting a pitcher who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery).
There’s no 60-day IL in the offseason, so if the Cardinals indeed add Hjerpe to the 40-man in November, they’ll effectively be navigating the offseason with only 37 of their 40-man roster spots available. Each of Roby, Robberse and Hjerpe would be taking up a spot. And, since none of them has made his big league debut yet, those dead roster spots would even carry over into the 2026 season, unless the Cardinals select any of the three to the major league roster and place them on the 60-day injured list. Doing so would start any of the trio’s service clock early and grant them major league service time and salary while rehabbing.
Cardinals’ Cooper Hjerpe Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
The Cardinals announced that pitching prospect Cooper Hjerpe has undergone Tommy John surgery. The left-hander will miss the entire 2025 season and won’t be expected back until midway through the 2026 campaign.
Hjerpe, 24, is one of the club’s top pitching prospects. He was selected in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2022 draft. He received a signing bonus of just under $3.2MM. He has since posted some intriguing minor league numbers, with plenty of strikeouts though also lots of walks. He logged 93 1/3 innings over 2023 and 2024, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A. He allowed 3.37 earned runs per nine, punching out 32.8% of batters faced but also giving out free passes at a 13.7% clip.
His elbow health, or lack thereof, has been a part of the trajectory in that time. He required surgery to remove loose bodies from that elbow in 2023, limiting him to just eight starts that year. In 2024, his final start of the season was on July 2, with an elbow injury shutting him down from then on.
Clubs and pitchers generally prefer to take non-surgical approaches to injuries for as long as they can, as going under the knife is such a lengthy time commitment and there are no guarantees that a player will return to 100% effectiveness afterwards. But in this case, it could be avoided no longer, so Hjerpe is now going to be on the shelf for a while.
Despite the limited workload, Hjerpe is well regarded. Baseball America currently lists him as the #7 prospect in the Cards’ system, highlighting his unique sidearm delivery as he throws an arsenal that includes a fastball, curveball, cutter and changeup. Back in May of last year, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs had him in the #5 spot.
If Hjerpe were healthy here in 2025, he likely would have returned to Double-A and could have pushed for a Triple-A promotion at some point during the season. All that will have to be kicked down the road now.
Some interesting decision points will come this winter, as Hjerpe will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December. The Cards will have to decide if it’s worth giving him a 40-man spot by the Rule 5 protection deadline in November. He’s obviously an important prospect in the system but has a limited track record and will still be rehabbing at that time. However, grabbing an injured pitcher in the Rule 5 isn’t unprecedented. In the most recent iteration, the Blue Jays took Angel Bastardo from the Red Sox while the Rays grabbed Nate Lavender from the Mets. Both of those pitchers underwent Tommy John surgeries last summer and could potentially return later this year.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Draft Signings: Angels, Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates
A pair of top ten picks, Gavin Cross and Elijah Green, agreed to terms with their teams today. A host of other high picks are set to enter pro ball, as well. We’ll round up other signings among the top 40 here:
- The Angels are in agreement with #13 overall pick Zach Neto, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (on Twitter). He receives a $3.5MM signing bonus, below the $4.41MM slot value associated with the pick. A 21-year-old shortstop out of Campbell, Neto was ranked the #16 prospect in the draft class by Baseball America. A well-rounded infielder, the righty-hitting Neto is seen as a possible hit-first shortstop at the major league level. He dominated Big South pitching over his three years with the Camels, including a .407/.514/.769 showing in 256 plate appearances as a junior.
- The Mets announced they’ve reached an agreement with #14 selection Jett Williams. The 18-year-old infielder signs for a $3.9MM bonus, reports Tim Healey of Newsday (on Twitter). That’s a bit below the $4.24MM slot value that accompanies the #14 pick. Williams, a switch-hitter from a Texas high school, had been committed to Mississippi State. The #15 prospect in the class according to BA, he’s credited with advanced bat-to-ball skills and surprising bat speed for a player who’s listed at 5’8″ and 185 pounds. The outlet raises some questions about whether he can stick at shortstop but suggests he’s athletic enough to play up-the-middle in some capacity.
- The Braves have an agreement with #20 selection Owen Murphy, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.5569MM bonus, below the $3.4MM slot value. A right-hander out of an Illinois high school, Murphy will forego his commitment to Notre Dame. BA rated the 18-year-old as the #45 prospect in the class, writing that he relies heavily on an upper 70s breaking ball that has the potential to be a plus offering.
- The Cardinals announced they’ve signed #22 pick Cooper Hjerpe. Callis reports (on Twitter) that he’ll receive a $3.1822MM signing bonus that matches the pick’s slot value. Hjerpe was one of the top college pitchers in the country, tossing 103 1/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball with a 39.6% strikeout rate during his junior season at Oregon State. BA rated Hjerpe as the #33 prospect in the class, praising the life he gets on his fastball at the top of the strike zone and his strike-throwing ability.
- The Brewers announced an agreement with #27 pick Eric Brown Jr., which Callis reports is worth $2.15MM (Twitter link). The slot value for the selection is $2.7MM. A shortstop from Coastal Carolina, Brown was the draft’s #55 prospect according to BA. The outlet coincidentally likens his unusual hitting setup to the one Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell utilized as a player, but notes that Brown consistently posts solid exit velocity numbers and has a chance to stick at shortstop. The 21-year-old hit .330/.460/.544 during his junior year in Conway.
- The Braves agreed to terms with #35 selection J.R. Ritchie, Callis reports (Twitter link). It’s a $2.4MM bonus, above the $2.0232MM slot value. A right-handed pitcher from a Washington state high school, Ritchie had been a UCLA commit. BA slotted the 19-year-old as the #52 prospect in the class, crediting him with a solid three-pitch mix (headlined by an above-average slider) and advanced control.
- The Pirates announced a deal with #36 selection Thomas Harrington. The right-hander out of Campbell receives a $2.05MM signing bonus, reports Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). That’s a hair south of the $2.15MM slot value. Harrington was the #45 prospect available, according to BA, which projects him for a pair of above-average secondary offerings (slider and changeup) and possible plus control. The 21-year-old worked 92 2/3 innings of 2.53 ERA ball this season, fanning 30% of batters faced with a sparkling 4.9% walk percentage.
2022 MLB Draft, First Round Results
The 2022 MLB Draft is underway, and here is the full list of each team’s selections from the first round. The Dodgers are the only team without a first-rounder, as their top pick (originally 30th overall) was dropped 10 places to 40th overall (the first pick of the second round) as part of their punishment for exceeding the highest luxury-tax tier in 2021. However, there are still 30 picks in the first round proper since the Mets have both the 11th and 14th overall picks — for not signing 10th overall pick Kumar Rocker last year, New York was given a compensatory selection in the 11th overall spot this year.
This year’s draft will again be 20 rounds long, and split over three days. The first 80 picks will be made tonight — the first two official rounds, the two Competitive Balance Rounds, and the two sets of compensatory rounds (giving picks to teams who lost qualifying offer-rejecting free agents). Rounds 3-10 take place on Monday, and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday.
Under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2023 draft will have several differences, including a lottery to determine the top six picks, a revamped process for deciding the Competitive Balance rounds, possible extra picks for teams due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive rules, and possibly the end of the qualifying offer system as we know it should an international draft be implemented.
For one final year under this draft format, however, let’s dive into the picks. More details and scouting reports on all these young players are available in pre-draft rankings from Baseball America, Fangraphs, MLB Pipeline, The Athletic’s Keith Law, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. As well, Pipeline has the breakdown of the slot values assigned to each pick in the first 10 rounds, as well as the bonus pool money available to all 30 teams.
The selections….
- Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday, SS, Stillwater High School (OK)
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan High School (GA)
- Texas Rangers: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt (played in independent Frontier League in 2021)
- Pittsburgh Pirates: Termarr Johnson, SS, Benjamin E. Mays High School (GA)
- Washington Nationals: Elijah Green, OF, IMG Academy (FL)
- Miami Marlins: Jacob Berry, 3B/OF, LSU
- Chicago Cubs: Cade Horton, RHP, University of Oklahoma
- Minnesota Twins: Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly
- Kansas City Royals: Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech
- Colorado Rockies: Gabriel Hughes, RHP, Gonzaga
- New York Mets: Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech
- Detroit Tigers: Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech
- Los Angeles Angels: Zach Neto, SS, Campbell University
- New York Mets: Jett Williams, SS/OF, Rockwall-Heath High School (TX)
- San Diego Padres: Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford High School (GA)
- Cleveland Guardians: Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison University
- Philadelphia Phillies: Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman High School (NV)
- Cincinnati Reds: Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola JC (FL)
- Oakland Athletics: Daniel Susac, C, University of Arizona
- Atlanta Braves: Owen Murphy, RHP, Riverside-Brookfield High School (IL)
- Seattle Mariners: Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny High School (PA)
- St. Louis Cardinals: Cooper Hjerpe, LHP, Oregon State University
- Toronto Blue Jays: Brandon Barriera, LHP, American Heritage High School (FL)
- Boston Red Sox: Mikey Romero, SS, Orange Lutheran High School (CA)
- New York Yankees: Spencer Jones, OF, Vanderbilt University
- Chicago White Sox: Noah Schultz, LHP, Oswego East High School (IL)
- Milwaukee Brewers: Eric Brown Jr., SS, Coastal Carolina University
- Houston Astros: Drew Gilbert, OF, University of Tennessee
- Tampa Bay Rays: Xavier Isaac, 1B, East Forsyth High School (NC)
- San Francisco Giants: Reggie Crawford, LHP/1B, University of Connecticut