The St. Louis Cardinals are generally seen as an old team.
That itself doesn’t make them better or worse, but it’s worth pointing out that most of their core (Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brandon Crawford, Matt Carpenter, Lance Lynn, Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, and several others) is over 30 years old.
That’s why quality prospects are very, very important for the health of the franchise.
Among pitching prospects, they might not have a better one than Tink Hence.
The right-hander may or may not see major-league time this year, but one thing is certain: he is having an amazing spring training.
During the Spring Breakout, a new event that is supposed to showcase some of the top prospects in the game, he had an amazing game on Friday.
2 IP0 R1 H0 BB3 K pic.twitter.com/sWPlQ4TDBm
Hence was scoreless for two frames, conceding nothing more than a hit.
He didn’t walk anyone and struck out three.
His spring training ERA is perfect, and his stuff has been mightily impressive.
He sits in the mid-to-high 90s with his fastball, which can touch 97 mph and has excellent riding action.
He gets most of his swings-and-misses with his changeup, though, which looks like a fastball and then tumbles upon reaching the heart of the strike zone.
Hence was brilliant in High-A last year (2.81 ERA in 41.2 frames) but struggled a bit in 54.1 Double-A innings, with a 5.47 ERA.
Evidently, he needs more time in the upper minors to polish some details.
However, a fast start in Double-A could position himself for a call-up to Triple-A soon.
From there, the majors is one step away.