Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Have Sky-High Hopes For 22-Year-Old Phenom

The Cardinals have a bright future...
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

The St. Louis Cardinals have some serious talent in the minor leagues right now.

Although the season hasn't started off as fans hoped it would, Cardinals fans should have high hopes for the future. The biggest reason for this is without a doubt No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt. He's just 22 years old and was selected by the team with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft out of West Virginia University.

The team got a good look at him in Spring Training and clearly like what they saw. Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak even compared him to Hall of Famer Craig Biggio while speaking to Ryan Decker of Gold and Blue Nation.

"We were thrilled,” Mozeliak said as transcribed by Decker. "I think back to 24 hours before the draft last year, we did not think we’d be getting him. We certainly had hoped that that might happen, and we were lucky enough and fortunate enough to get that opportunity. Glad he’s a Cardinal...

"In a lot of ways, he’s kind of like a (Craig) Biggio type, in the sense of just really good bat-to-ball skills."

Now that's a pretty great stamp of approval. Biggio finished his career with 3,060 base hits, seven All-Star nods, four Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, and made it into the Hall of Fame. If Wetherholt could somehow come close to that, the Cardinals will have a bright future.

More MLB: Cardinals Insider Reveals Team's Stance On Promoting Top Prospect

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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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