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Hence

Hence is arguably the highest profile prospect, especially from a fantasy persepctive, that needed to be added to a 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s reserve list deadline to protect him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. the dynamic 22-year-old righty made significant strides last year in the upper minors, flashing some of the best stuff of any prospect in baseball, posting a stellar 2.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 109/26 K/BB ratio across 79 2/3 innings (20 starts) for Double-A Memphis. He’ll open next season on the doorstep of the majors and figures to force his way to St. Louis at some point.

After a seemingly normal first inning, Hence began the second inning with a groundout but threw four of the last six pitches in the dirt. He was met on the mound by the Springfield infield, his manager, and an athletic trainer before walking off the mound with the trainer. The Cardinals have not yet revealed any more information about the nature of his injury, but Cardinals’ fans and fantasy managers are holding their breath for good news on the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told reporters Thursday that Hence was lifted after just 35 pitches over two frames out of an abundance of caution. It doesn’t sound like a serious concern moving forward, but it’s nice to have confirmation that the top pitching prospect isn’t dealing with anything major. The 21-year-old righty has been impressive this season at Double-A Springfield and is a borderline top-10 pitching prospect for dynasty league managers at the moment.

Hence authored the most dominant performance of his career so far on Friday evening, scattering five hits and one walk over six stellar frames. There’s plenty of differing opinions on Hence within the prospect community regarding his ultimate upside, but the 21-year-old is going to make an impact at some point in the next few years for fantasy purposes. He’s a top-25 range starting pitching prospect for dynasty purposes moving forward.

Hence is regarded as one of the Cardinals’ top pitching prospects and has a chance to ascend to the big leagues later on this year. Gómez has put up massive power numbers in the upper minors, but has yet to get a chance at the highest level. Naughton is merely extra organizational pitching depth at this juncture of his career.

Hence isn’t a candidate to make the Cardinals at age 21, but he could surface at some point during 2024. While he’s an excellent rotation prospect, he could initially make an impact as a reliever if the Cardinals remain in contention during the second half.

Hence was a second-round selection in the 2020 MLB Draft and has moved quickly through St. Louis’ minor league system. The 20-year-old righty has posted a solid 2.81 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 46/12 K/BB ratio across 41 2/3 innings (11 starts) this season for High-A Peoria.

Hence is universally-regarded as a top-50 overall prospect, and put together an impressive spring, allowing one run with five strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings (four appearances) as a non-roster invitee to big league camp. The 20-yea-old righty is likely to open the year in the lower minors, but figures to move quickly through the Cardinals’ system.

The 20-year-old Hence sat at 97 mph with his fastball today. Hence should be in for something more of a typical workload this season after throwing just 52 innings in his 16 starts last year. He was incredible in the shorter stints, striking out 41.5% of the batters he faced and posting a 1.38 ERA in A-ball.

Hence, 19, allowed just a hit with a walk, and he struck out eight. The right-hander has been sensational in his limited time with Palm Beach, with a 0.99 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 48/9 K/BB ratio over his 27 1/3 innings. He’s being brought along slowly -- the four innings are a season high -- but there’s no denying the impressiveness of those numbers. The 63rd pick of the 2020 draft has two plus pitches in his fastball and curve -- the could be closer to plus-plus -- and he also has an average change and cutter/slider to keep hitters honest. Command is a work-in-progress, but that’s to be expected from a teenager that turns 20 in August. Hence is a few years away, but those looking for pitching upside? Well, here ya go.