Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 23-Year-Old Poised for Opening Day Jump to Big Leagues

The St. Louis Cardinals have a big spring ahead.
Patrick McAvoy|
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

It's no secret that the most interesting storyline to follow for the St. Louis Cardinals as Spring Training kicks off is going to be No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt.

The 23-year-old is going to take part in big league camp this spring with a shot at earning a job in the Cardinals' wide-open infield. Right now, second base and third base are completely up in the air with Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado both elsewhere. Fortunately, Wetherholt can play either position, which should increase his chances of cracking the Opening Day roster.

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The Cardinals won't officially kick off Spring Training until Thursday, but the hype is already loud around the young infielder. On Tuesday, MLB.com's Manny Randhawa shared an Opening Day roster projection for St. Louis and unsurprisingly, Wetherholt popped up on it at second base.

It's going to be an interesting spring for St. Louis

St. Louis Cardinals left feilder JJ Wetherholt
Mar 5, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left feilder JJ Wetherholt (87) runs to second base against the Houston Astros during the second inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images | Rich Storry-Imagn Images

"Second baseman (1): JJ Wetherholt," Randhawa wrote. "When Donovan was traded to the Mariners, it opened a vacancy at second base. Enter Wetherholt, the No. 5 prospect in the game per MLB Pipeline. The seventh overall pick in 2024 produced a .304/.418/.487 slash line with 19 home runs in 138 Minor League games from 2024-25."

It was an offseason of change for St. Louis. It's hard to see guys like Donovan and Arenado go, but the possibility of Wetherholt making the jump to the big leagues makes up for the losses a bit. The 23-year-old was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft and he's already on the doorstep to the big leagues. He only played in 29 professional games in 2024 at the Class-A level. The 2025 season was his first full season in professional baseball and he made it all the way up to Triple-A. There were many calling on the Cardinals to give him a shot in the big leagues as well, but there wasn't much space on the roster.

Now, things are different. There are openings and Wetherholt has a shot at making the team.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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