Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Gets Huge Endorsement From Chaim Bloom

The Cardinals have one of the best prospects in baseball emerging as a star before their eyes...
Zach Pressnell|
Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt fields a ground ball during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt fields a ground ball during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are in the middle of a huge rebuild right now, which means they're going to need to lean heavily on their farm system over the coming years.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, they have one of the best prospects in the league already in their organization. JJ Wetherholt is a consensus top 10 prospect in the league and many outlets consider him a top five prospect.

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This spring, the Cardinals have already seen a lot of potential from Wetherholt. He's flashed a lot of ability during the early portion of spring training. With games beginning in the near future, the young infielder received a huge endorsement from Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

Chaim Bloom shares high praise for Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt

St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherhol
Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals infielder JJ Wetherholt (77) during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

“JJ is an outstanding natural hitter whose poise and maturity has impressed all of us throughout his time here. He’s a learner who loves to be challenged," Bloom said, via Jim Bowden of The Athletic. "JJ impacts all of those around him positively and it’s going to be fun to see him do that as he takes on a bigger role in our camp this spring. As we start spring training, we’ll continue to pay attention to how he’s preparing physically to put his body in position to excel defensively throughout the long season.”

The Cardinals should be very excited about Wetherholt. He crushed Triple-A pitching late last season while flashing the potential to be a five-tool prospect. The young star can steal bases while hitting for a high average and decent power. And he's only getting better with more exposure to big league level talent.

With Brendan Donovan traded to the Seattle Mariners, the Cardinals have a clear spot in the starting lineup for Wetherholt. While they haven't made it official that he's made the opening day roster, this is seemingly the assumption that everybody in St. Louis is operating under. Wetherholt will likely be a top of the lineup bat, starting at second base for the Cardinals for the next five to eight seasons, if not longer.

More MLB: All Eyes on Masyn Winn as Cardinals Spring Training Begins

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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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