Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Gets Projected Lineup Spot for Opening Day

Where should the stud prospect start out?

Feb 25, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals designated hitter JJ Wetherholt (87) prepares for batting practice before a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

St. Louis Cardinals fans may know their team is unlikely to make a playoff push this season, but the arrival of JJ Wetherholt is giving them plenty of reasons for excitement.

Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft, looks as ready to make his big-league debut as any prospect in the minors. And the Cardinals trading away second baseman Brendan Donovan seemingly cleared a path for Wetherholt to start right from the jump this season.

If opening day is indeed the grand introduction between Cardinals fans and Wetherholt, as many currently anticipate, there's still one interesting question left to answer.

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Where should Cardinals place Wetherholt in the order?

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

Considering all the other young players the Cardinals are attempting to develop at the major league level at the moment, where should Wetherholt bat in the order?

On Thursday, MLB.com's site experts projected the opening day lineups for all 30 teams, and had the Cardinals batting Wetherholt seventh when they face the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium on March 26.

"Wetherholt, the Cards' top prospect and MLB's No. 5 overall, is primed to win a starting job with Brendan Donovan traded," wrote the site's uncredited author.

On many teams, a top prospect making his major league debut on opening day would automatically slot into the No. 9 hole. The New York Yankees' treatment of Anthony Volpe in 2023 comes to mind there.

But this Cardinals lineup isn't Aaron Judge's Yankees. Almost everyone in the lineup will be fighting to keep their starting job just as hard as Wetherholt, with the exceptions of Lars Nootbaar (if healthy), Alec Burleson, Masyn Winn, and Iván Herrera.

Could Wetherholt be batting first or second for the Cardinals by Memorial Day? It's absolutely in the cards. But St. Louis should be careful about where it places him on a day-to-day basis off the rip, and manager Oli Marmol would do well to keep some righties around him to prevent him from having to face lefty relievers over and over again early on.

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