Here’s What JJ Wetherholt Has to Do to Make Cardinals, Per Insider

All eyes are going to be on St. Louis Cardinals No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt over the next six weeks or so.

There are 41 days until the Cardinals kick off the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cardinals will welcome the Rays to Busch Stadium for Opening Day and the big question the club is going to have to sort out — among many — over the next six weeks is whether Whetherholt is ready to make the jump to the big leagues at 23 years old.

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He's going to have every opportunity to show what he can do in big league camp. But what does he need to do in order to make the Opening Day roster? Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted that it won't necessarily be about his Spring Training statistics, but instead his work outside of games.

The Cardinals phenom is looking to make the big league roster

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

"Will JJ Wetherholt make the team? The Cardinals cleared the way with trades for top prospect JJ Wetherholt to play his way into the opening day lineup and get a jump on his rivals for National League Rookie of the Year," Goold wrote. "Wetherholt, 23, won the Texas League MVP this past season despite spending his final 47 games of the season playing even better at Class AAA Memphis. The left-handed hitting infielder with a keen approach saw an uptick in power from .466 at Double-A Springfield to .562 at the higher affiliate. Poetically, he hit .314 at Memphis as if calling his next home.

"Spring stats won’t decide where Wetherholt opens the year, the Cardinals stress. Instead, they are scrutinizing his work away from games as much as his swings in them, his adjustments, and his readiness for the leap to Busch Stadium. The initial plan is to see how the former first-round pick looks at second and third bases. If Wetherholt opens with the team, he’ll give the Cardinals a crack at a bonus draft pick in 2027 through a rule that incentivizes prospects making the majors not teams massaging service time. The seventh overall pick in 2024 arrived in camp to see a No. 77 hanging at his locker. And the Cardinals have another number already set aside for him in the majors. His preferred No. 26."

It's hard not to be excited about this kid. MLB.com has Wetherholt ranked as the No. 5 prospect overall in baseball heading into the 2026 season. If he plays his cards right, whoever has tickets to Opening Day very well could see him in action.

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