Fantasy News

• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Climbs to Double-A

  Rotowire Jul 1, 2023

  Hence was promoted to Double-A Springfield on Saturday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports. The 20-year-old righty missed a month early in the year with chest/oblique tightness, but he still made 11 starts with High-A Peoria, logging a 2.81 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 46:12 K:BB in 41.2 innings. The last-place Cardinals haven't gotten much consistent production from their rotation members, outside of Jordan Montgomery, but it would still be a stretch for Hence to climb to the big leagues this season. If he stays healthy, he should figure prominently into the 2024 rotation mix.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Returns from minor-league IL

  Rotowire May 11, 2023

  Hence (chest) was activated from the minor-league injured list Thursday at High-A Peoria. Hence is scheduled to return to Peoria's starting rotation Friday after missing nearly a full month due to chest tightness. It sounds like the Cardinals were mostly playing things cautiously with the 20-year-old top pitching prospect, who has delivered a sparkling 2.12 ERA and 103:21 K:BB through his first 68 professional innings. He had logged two scoreless starts this season in High-A ball before landing on the IL.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Nearing return at High-A

  Rotowire May 9, 2023

  Hence (chest) is expected to return to the rotation at High-A Peoria on Friday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Hence has been on the minor-league injured list since mid-April due to chest tightness. The 20-year-old top prospect logged two starts with Peoria before hitting the shelf, working 7.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He pitched to a brilliant 1.38 ERA and 81:15 K:BB over 52.1 innings last summer at Low-A Palm Beach.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Dealing with minor injury

  Rotowire Apr 30, 2023

  Hence, who has been on the 7-day injured list at High-A Peoria, avoided serious injury after being bothered by chest tightness and could be activated soon, John Denton of MLB.com reports. It's good to hear that Hence was dealing with a chest issue rather than an elbow or shoulder issue. He has not pitched since April 13 and was expected to throw high-intensity bullpen sessions this week. If he has remained on his scheduled throwing program, Hence could be activated in the first half of May.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Placed on minor-league IL

  Rotowire Apr 18, 2023

  Hence (undisclosed) was placed on the 7-day injured list Tuesday at High-A Peoria. Hence was pulled from his second start of the year last Thursday at Peoria after throwing a wild pitch and then promptly getting a visit from the training staff. There is no update as to the exact nature of the injury. It was downplayed initially and he had been scheduled to throw off a mound this week. The 20-year-old right-hander is a top-ranked prospect in the Cardinals' system.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Exits start with trainers

  Rotowire Apr 13, 2023

  Hence (undisclosed) exited his start at High-A Peoria with trainers Thursday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Hence worked 3.2 innings before athletic trainers visited him on the mound. He subsequently exited, though the nature of the injury is currently unclear.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Reassigned to minor-league camp

  Rotowire Mar 15, 2023

  Hence was reassigned to minor-league camp by the Cardinals on Wednesday. Hence was a bit wild but very impressive during his first major-league camp. The Cards have been very careful with the 20-year-old's workload and that should continue in his likely move up to High-A Peoria to start the 2023 season.

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• Cardinals' Tink Hence: Overpowering Single-A hitters

  Rotowire Aug 2, 2022

  Hence has a minuscule 1.15 ERA and 0.77 WHIP accompanied by a 53:10 K:BB through 10 starts (31.1 innings) for Single-A Palm Beach this season. They've been stretching the 2020 second-round pick out slowly this year, as his last two outings have been his longest at four innings apiece. That makes sense, considering that Hence threw just eight pro innings last season and is seen as a relatively high-risk prospect due to his slender build and somewhat violent delivery. A few days away from his 20th birthday, Hence has obviously raised his stock this year, but questions will linger about his ultimate role until he's able to quiet them by pitching deeper into games. Of course, the Cardinals may not even let him try to do that until next season.

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