JUPITER, Fla. -- It's an assignment that wouldn't register on the pitching seismograph for most guys. For Blake Hawksworth, though, Wednesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Marlins may as well be Opening Day next month at Busch Stadium.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity to start a game," Hawksworth said. "I'm thrilled. When [pitching coach Dave Duncan] told me ... I think last year if he would have told me that, I probably would have been a little nervous, scared, unsure. This year, I was giddy, calling everyone. I'm very excited."

Spring Training brings its own kind of renewal for players, coaches, executives and fans across the game. For Hawksworth, though, it goes a little deeper. He'll make the start against Florida's Anibal Sanchez as exhibition play opens in Jupiter in a 12:05 p.m. CT game at Roger Dean Stadium.

Hawksworth signed with the Cardinals as a "draft-and-follow" player in 2002, and the club touted him as the equivalent of a first-round selection in a Draft where it didn't have a No. 1 pick. After two fine seasons to begin his pro career, he was rated the organization's top prospect before the 2004 campaign.

Then it started going south, with one injury after another. Hawksworth made two starts in 2004 and six in '05. He enjoyed a bounce-back year in '06, pitching well at Class A Palm Beach and Double-A Springfield, before a frustrating '07 introduction to Triple-A. The '08 season was another disappointing one, marred by both a knee injury and ineffectiveness.

Hawksworth actually showed some real progress towards the end of '08, posting a 2.89 ERA over his final five starts with 23 strikeouts and 11 walks. Then he got hurt again, reinjuring the knee that cost him two months earlier in the year. He skipped a planned trip to play in the Venezuelan Winter League, and spent the offseason getting his body and mind right. And it's paid off.

The right-hander is pitching like he never has before in Spring Training, showing the coaching staff improved stuff, command and carriage.

"I came into camp healthy," Hawksworth said. "I think it's just as much mental health as physical. It's been a rough couple of years in Triple-A. I lost a lot of my steam. But I've got a good sense of peace coming into this camp. I don't feel as much anxiety, pressure. It's been very relaxing. It's just been positive. And it's been going well so far."

However well it goes, though, Hawksworth knows the truth. The odds are stacked extremely high against him in the short term, and not a lot shorter in the middle-to-long term. The Cardinals have announced their five-man starting rotation, and the bullpen doesn't have many openings either. He's all but certainly ticketed for Triple-A Memphis. And even there, a couple of pitchers may rank ahead of him on the organization's depth chart.

But he's doing all he can for the time being. He's caught what may be the most important eye in camp, that of Duncan. The normally taciturn pitching coach rattled off a lengthy string of improvements he's seen in Hawksworth.

"Better presence on the mound," Duncan said. "Better velocity. Better command of his pitches. More aggressive, more confident."

Which adds up to a better chance down the line, if something should happen to a starter.

"There may be some point in time in the season where we need a pitcher," Duncan said. "And we call down to Triple-A and say, 'Who's the best pitcher you got right now?' If they had said Hawksworth last year, I would have bypassed it. I would have said, no, I haven't seen enough of Hawksworth good to take that shot. ... He's made a more favorable impression so far this spring than he has in past springs."

Now the key is to keep it going. Hawksworth may not get another start this spring after Wednesday. The next time his turn comes around, Adam Wainwright will pitch the first and Hawksworth will pitch later in the game. Hawksworth won't be complaining, though.

"I think all the adversity happens for a reason," he said. "Sometimes you've got to hit bottom to reach that point. I came in healthy last spring, and it just wasn't the same. I felt like I was pressing. A lot of nerves. I feel like I belong, to be honest, and I think that's a big difference, to believe you can pitch at this level. As opposed to, 'OK, I've got to prove that I can.' So I'm glad that people are receptive and excited."