JJ Wetherholt Hype Soars as Cardinals Debut Nears

There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to the 2026 Major League Baseball season if you're a St. Louis Cardinals fan.

St. Louis may not be a World Series contender, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that doesn't mean the season can't be a success. The Cardinals' roster is extremely young. St. Louis fans are going to get a chance to see a young roster try to put it together in 2026. There are already guys who look like established core pieces, like Masyn Winn, Iván Herrera, and arguably Alec Burleson. There are guys who look like core pieces and another good season could confirm this, like Victor Scott II, Michael McGreevy and Matthew Liberatore. If Brendan Donovan stays, he fits the description of a core piece as well. Also, the club has Jordan Walker who has immense untapped potential.

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The Cardinals will get to see these guys and more, hopefully take the next step as this team charts a path forward. What's most exciting is that the club could very well have No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt in the majors in 2026 as well. That could be Opening Day or at some point shortly afterward. All in all, it would be more of a shock if he isn't in St. Louis in 2026 at some point. Wetherholt has massive expectations already, and has lived up to the hype so far down in the minors. So much so that The Athletic's Keith Law has him as the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball heading into 2026.

The Cardinals have one of the game's best prospects

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

"The Cardinals couldn’t believe their luck when they landed Wetherholt with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 draft, as the West Virginia shortstop had missed a big chunk of his junior season with a recurring hamstring injury that often limited him even when he was able to play," Law wrote. "St. Louis skipped him over High A and had him start his first full pro season in Double A, where he hit .300/.425/.466 with more walks than strikeouts, and he hit even better after a promotion to Triple A just before the All-Star break, hitting .314/.416/.562.

"He’s not going to play shortstop, definitely not with Masyn Winn in front of him, but has the hands and instincts to play second or third and will stay on the dirt. Wetherholt doesn’t have huge raw power, much closer to average than plus, but he squares the ball up very consistently and his hard-hit (49 percent) and Barrel (12.6 percent) rates were well above the median in Triple A, so he might end up with more in-game power in the end.

"I wouldn’t want to change anything about his approach, as he benefits by using the whole field and is very selective until he gets to two strikes, when he expands the zone more than a hitter with his hard-contact profile should. He’s the National League prospect about whom I’d feel most confident saying that he’ll win a batting average title someday."

There are few people in baseball more respected than Law when it comes to prospects. The fact that he views Wetherholt as highly as he does should have the fanbase fired up. If he makes the club out of Spring Training, his presence alone will be enough for the fanbase to tune in each night.

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