Over the last few years, pitching has been a question for the Cardinals but more from the perspective that the team hasn’t had enough. That hasn’t been the case this season and there’s even more working their way up.

He began the season on the shelf but recently returned. Hence now has made two starts in the minor leagues. His first rehab assignment of the season was on May 21st for the Class-A Palm Beach Cardinals. Hence went one inning and didn’t allow a base hit or a run and struck out one batter. He returned to the mound this week on Tuesday and pitched 2 1/3 innings for Palm Beach. He allowed three base hits but didn’t allow a run while striking out one and walking two batters.

If Hence can stay healthy throughout his minor league rehab stint, he’ll likely make the jump to Triple-A at some point, which he hasn’t reached in his young career. Impressing there could give him a shot at a late-season call-up, but we’ll see. St. Louis has a lot of pitching depth already and he hasn’t pitched at the Triple-A level yet, if he does debut in 2025, it likely wouldn’t be until the fall, but that’s speculation.

Hence could be back on the mound on Tuesday when Palm Beach travels to Fort Myers.