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Cardinals Prospect Hence Earns Pitcher of the Month Award

Originally posted on The Forkball | By JM Kerska | Last updated 5/5/24

The St. Louis Cardinals starting pitching prospect Tink Hence was named Texas League Pitcher of the Month for April. The young righty has shown significant improvement at Double-A this season, as he struggled last year in a small sample. Posting a 5.47 ERA and 1.51 WHIP.

Cardinals Prospect Hence Dominates in First Start

The Cardinals’ top pitching prospect Hence started off the 2024 season with a dominating performance. The young, right-handed pitcher has electric stuff, and it was on full display in his first start for Double-A Springfield.

The young righty tossed five innings of no hit baseball. He threw 67 pitches, 43 for strikes. Additionally, he had threeH strikeouts and allowed only one walk. The right-hander’s fastball sat consistently in the mid to high 90’s and had both the change-up and slider working. The strong start was a sign of good things to come. As his success continued throughout April.

Strong Start and Finish

Hence made five starts in April for Double-A Springfield, including the strong opening day performance. He led the league with 31 strikeouts and a 0.74 WHIP.
The righty went 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA as he allowed only six walks over 25.2 innings. In the right-hander’s final start of April, he set career bests in innings pitched with seven and strikeouts with ten against Tulsa. The performance served as a perfect bookend to his dominating month of April. Furthermore, the career high seven innings pitched is an encouraging development. The questions of stamina and durability are the final hurdles for Cardinals prospect Hence.

Stuff is Ready but Stamina Still a Question

The young righty has yet to throw over 100 innings in a season. The Cardinals organization has kept him on a strict protocol in regard to innings and pitch count. There’s no arguing that he has the stuff to be a good major league pitcher. The only real question is, does he have the stamina to take the ball every fifth day for an entire major league season?

At only twenty-one years of age, Hence still has room to grow. He will undoubtedly continue to rise in the prospect rankings. The young righty is on track to being an impact player for a club that is in desperate need of pitching. The future is bright for Hence, and he’s a player that fans should be excited about.

This article first appeared on The Forkball and was syndicated with permission.

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