Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Might Soon Be Obligated To Trade For Rising Star's Roster Spot

The young St. Louis slugger is making a name for himself in the minors
Nate Hagerty|
Apr 16, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals scoreboard as a plane passes by during the seventh inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Apr 16, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals scoreboard as a plane passes by during the seventh inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals have a youth-laden roster and are well-positioned to invest in the organization's future, with several rising stars progressing through the minors.

Although the Cardinals' youthful roster has underperformed over the last couple of seasons, the future looks bright with youngsters, such as Michael McGreevy, Quinn Matthews and St. Louis' 2025 first-round draft pick Liam Doyle, belonging to the team's farm system.

There's another Cardinals top prospect who could soon force the franchise to trade away talent, so that he can find a spot on St. Louis' big-league roster.

"JJ Wetherholt (Cardinals) delivers his second 4-hit game as a pro!" MLB Pipeline posted on X late Friday night after the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds defeated the Triple-A Mud Hens in a dominant 7-0 victory. "MLB's No. 17 prospect is 8-for-16 with five extra-base hits since being promoted to the Triple-A (Memphis Redbirds)."

Wetherholt batted .300 with 22 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 34 RBIs and a .891 OPS in 62 games played for Double-A Springfield before being promoted to Triple-A Memphis on July 7.

The 22-year-old was labeled the "best pure hitter" in his draft class. The Cardinals selected Wetherholt in the first round last year -- he was the seventh overall pick.

Since being promoted to the Triple-A level, Wetherholt has continued to swing well, batting .500 with five extra-base hits including one home run, two RBIs and a 1.529 OPS in four games played for Memphis.

The gifted left-handed batter plays shortstop and second base. With Masyn Winn, a likely face of the franchise's future, manning SS, Wetherholt's must either force the Cardinals to trade 23-year-old Thomas Saggese, 26-year-old José Fermín, 30-year-old Garret Hampson or shuffle players around to clear up 2B for him -- unless he learns how to play the outfield.

Considering that former Cardinals top prospects Nolan Gorman, Jordan Walker and even Lars Nootbaar, to a certain extent -- injuries plaguing Noot's career -- have been offensively disappointing throughout their young careers, St. Louis could be eager to make Wetherholt's MLB debut happen soon.

More MLB: Cardinals Have 'Handful Of Teams' Seeking Trade For High-Leverage Hurler

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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