Cardinals Former 1st-Round Pick in Play to Replace Hunter Dobbins

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be thin in the starting rotation for the foreseeable future.

St. Louis is not only missing one starter right now, but two. Both Andre Pallante and Hunter Dobbins are sidelined. Pallante is on the Injured List with elbow inflammation. Dobbins landed on the Injured List with forearm tightness. At this time, the Cardinals are expected to get Pallante back after a minimum of 15 days. Dobbins is more up in the air right now.

In response, the Cardinals have already promoted Quinn Mathews to help in the rotation. But there is more work to do. One thing that's interesting is the fact that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that 2022 first-round pick Cooper Hjerpe is a candidate to come up and make his big league debut as a result.

The Cardinals Are Thin In The Rotation

Feb 20, 2025; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Cooper Hjerpe (84). Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

"One candidate to help cover some of the innings, lefty Cooper Hjerpe, started Saturday night for Class AAA Memphis," Goold wrote. "That would make his next availability Thursday at the earliest. The Cardinals also have lefty Brycen Mautz as an internal option to offer length, or they could look outside the organization to the handful of veteran starters available as free agents or looking for a major-league spot while in the minors with another organization."

Hjerpe currently is St. Louis' No. 18 overall prospect. That's a sign of how different the Cardinals' farm system is now, in comparison to previous years. In 2025, Hjerpe was the Cardinals' No. 6 overall prospect. In 2023 and 2024, he was the Cardinals' No. 7 overall prospect.

If the Cardinals could get a look at Hjerpe in the majors before the season ends, it would be a positive. So far this season, Hjerpe has a 3.08 ERA in 14 total starts. He has seen time with the FCL Cardinals, Class-A Palm Beach, Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. This is actually the first season in which he has made it up to Triple-A.

Hjerpe missed the entire 2025 season, so the Cardinals had to ease him into the mix this season, which is also a reason why he dropped in the club's prospect rankings.

In total, Hjerpe has pitched in 39 games in his professional career so far, including 37 starts, and has a 3.29 ERA. You never want to see injuries to anyone. But if the Cardinals could see Hjerpe in the majors for even a brief time, it would be positive for the team in the long run. The 2026 season is about development and determining what St. Louis has.

The biggest example is Jordan Walker. He was able to show what he can do this season and now firmly looks like a long-term building block piece. What if Hjerpe could be a guy who helps the rotation in 2027? A cup of coffee in the rotation down the stretch could help him make a case.

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