Jul 12, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; National League infielder JJ Wetherholt (26) of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds the bases during the second inning against American League at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Sounds Ready For Next Step

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 8:10 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have a prospect that fans should be very excited about right now.

2024 first-round pick JJ Wetherholt has all of the makings of a star. He’s the No. 1-ranked prospect in the Cardinals system and the No. 5 overall prospect in all of baseball, per MLB.com. Wetherholt was named the Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year on Wednesday and it's not hard to see why.

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Wetherholt played in 109 games overall and slashed .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers, 59 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, 28 doubles, two triples, and 82 runs scored at just 23 years old. You can't really ask for much more out of someone.

The Cardinals phenom is on the MLB doorstep

Rich Storry-Imagn Images

With the mantle as the Cardinals' No. 1 prospect and all of the hype, but Wetherholt acknowledged that there is still work to do and he's not taking his eye off the fastball, as transcribed by MLB.com's John Denton.

"Every step that I take it becomes more real, but you’ve just got to focus on the process and the daily work that you put in,” Wetherholt said. “It’s easy right now to get caught up in, ‘you’re almost there, you’re almost there, you’re almost there,’ but then you don’t go work at things with the same hunger that you’ve always had before I was here.

“So, something I’m trying to do now is not buy into myself or everybody talking about me. I just want to continue to work hard. If you work the right way, it will come. So, that’s been my focus -- drown out the noise and enjoy this process.”

Wetherholt will not turn 24 years old until Sept. 10, 2026. If he is able to make the big league club out of camp, that means St. Louis would have two 23-year-olds to build the infield around for years to come with him and Masyn Winn. It's easy to get caught up in the doom-and-gloom of trade rumors and missing the playoffs. But, not many teams have long-term building blocks like Winn and Wetherholt at their disposal.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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