Cardinals' No. 3 Prospect Placed On Injured List With Rib Cage Strain

It's still unclear how much time he will miss

Sep 17, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detailed view of a St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals’ most exciting pitching prospect will begin the 2025 season on the Injured List.

St. Louis actually has two promising arms in the top three of its prospect rankings. 24-year-old left-hander Quinn Mathews currently ranks at No. 2, and 22-year-old righty Tink Hence follows at No. 3.

Hence has been bitten by the injury bug, however, as revealed Friday.

Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Hence will start the campaign on the 7-day IL with a rib cage strain while assigned to Triple-A Memphis Redbirds.

Hence has shown a ton of promise in the minors (hence the high ranking). The righty accrued a 2.71 ERA in 79 2/3 innings (20 starts) to go along with 109 strikeouts for Double-A Springfield Cardinals last season.

Hence was the No. 63 overall pick in the 2020 draft by St. Louis.

Per Yardbarker’s Simeon Kotto, Hence did struggle in the most recent Spring Training.

“The 22-year-old … has put together a very impressive track record in St. Louis’ minor-league system, registering a 3.28 ERA while averaging 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings,” Kotto wrote.

“Hence made two starts for the Redbirds in spring training, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on seven hits across 3.1 innings of work.”

The Cardinals will be closely monitoring Hence’s health and production in Triple-A this year, especially given their lack of surety at the back end of their big league rotation.

St. Louis got off to an exciting 1-0 start to the season and will continue things on Saturday with Erick Fedde on the mound.

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