Right-handed pitcher Tink Hence, who rose to No. 2 among Cardinals prospects in 2024, was designated for assignment by the club on Saturday to make room on the 40-man roster for lefty Quinn Mathews. Hence was bothered by durability issues since being a second-round pick in 2020.
Once thought to be the pitching future of the St. Louis Cardinals so much so that he appeared in consecutive MLB Futures Games in 2023 and ’24, right-handed pitcher Tink Hence’s future with the club could now be over.
Hence, who rose as high as No. 2 in the prospect rankings in the Cardinals’ Minor League system in 2024, was designated for assignment on Saturday to make room on the 40-man roster for Quinn Mathews, who is set to make his MLB debut today when the Cardinals face the Blue Jays at Rogers Center.
Struggling reliever Matt Svanson was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to make room on the active roster for Mathews, who went 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA over a nine-start stretch in June and July to earn his MLB promotion.
Hence, 23, could return to the Cardinals if he goes unclaimed. However, because of his relative youth and obvious arm talent, he is expected to be claimed by another organization and his time with the Cardinals will end.
At the time he was designated for assignment, Hence was ranked at No. 28 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 rankings for the club’s organizational prospects.
Hence, a native of Pine Bluff, Ark., was a second-round draft choice (No. 63 overall) in 2020 and was a part of a heralded draft class that included Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn and Alec Burleson. At the time he was drafted, Hence was listed at 175 pounded and he was inked to a $1.115 million signing bonus. However, durability and command issues seemed to ruin the promise that the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Hence possessed early in his professional career.
Hence struggled with durability, command issues
This season with Triple-A Memphis, Hence got off to a slow start and surrendered nine walks and an 8.64 ERA over 8 1/3 innings before being shipped back to the Florida Complex League to try and rework his mechanics. In 19 games (just three starts), Hence was 1-3 with a 6.64 ERA. He was 0 for 2 in save opportunities and he compiled nearly as many walks (18) as strikeouts (20) over 20 1/3 innings of work.
Hence, who worked for years to add muscle and bulk to his thin frame, had his most productive season in 2023 when he split time between High-A Peoria and Double-A Springfield. That season he went 4-6 with a 4.31 ERA over 23 starts. Using an explosive fastball that usually sat between 96-99 mph, an overhand curveball and a hard-biting changeup, Hence struck out 99 batters in 96 innings in 2023.
That work helped him climb to No. 2 in MLB Pipeline’s prospect rankings in 2024 behind Winn, who earned a promotion to the big leagues by the end of that season. Hence struck out 109 Double-A hitters in 2024, but he was limited to 79 2/3 innings and 20 starts because of shoulder injuries. That season, he was named the Texas League's Pitcher of the Year and given a postseason Texas League All-Star award.
Hence was slowed twice in 2025 by ribcage and pectoral/shoulder injuries in 2025, a season that saw infielder JJ Wetherholt and left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle pass him on the prospect rankings lists. He pitched in just eight games in 2025 while spending time at four levels of the Minor Leagues.
