Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Insider Shares High Praise For Talented Top Prospect

The Cardinals have a potential star on their hands in the form of their 2024 first round draft pick.
Zach Pressnell|
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
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

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have a very talented young core on their hands, built around big league stars like Iván Herrera and Masyn Winn.

These stars have the potential to turn the Cardinals' entire organization around in the next year or two. That doesn't even mention the talent coming up through the minor leagues.

Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants recently shared some seriously high praise for the Cardinals' 2024 first round pick, JJ Wetherholt, while tabbing the 22-year-old as the Cardinals' fifth most valuable young player.

"While Wetherholt is unlikely to be a big-time power hitter ever in his career, he is someone who could end up hitting around .300, posting an extremely high on-base percentage, finishing near the top of MLB in doubles, and hitting 20 or so home runs in some of his best years," Jacobs wrote. "He's about as pure of a hitter as it gets as a prospect, and the Cardinals have to love what they are seeing from the 22-year-old.

"Wetherholt is still a prospect, though, and one without a ton of sample size yet. He is recognized by most outlets as a top 30 prospect in the game already, but I think this is the cap of where he should be on the most valuable young Cardinals list because we have not seen him at the big league level yet."

Wetherholt is the Cardinals' top ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, for a good reason.

He's a very talented hitter and many draft experts were shocked to see him fall to the Cardinals at pick No. 7.

Though he's likely never going to be a slugger, his bat to ball skills and incredible all-around game make him one of the best prospects in the game. The Cardinals have a potential star on their hands and he could burst into the big leagues as early as this fall.

More MLB: MLB Writer Bashes Cardinals Star, Suggests Blockbuster Trade

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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