JJ

Wetherholt

Wetherholt cut a 2-0 deficit in half with a solo homer off Bryan Woo to leadoff the game for the Cards; one of four homers that St. Louis hit off Woo before he exited. The rookie second baseman now has a .240/.370/.385 slash with four homers and 12 RBI. That’s not the goal, but there have been enough games like this to be excited about Wetherholt’s future.

It’s the first two-homer game of Wetherholt’s career. The 23-year-old took Ryne Stanek deep for a two-run shot in the eighth, and he hit a solo blast off Joey Cantillo in the third. While the rookie second baseman is still hitting .200/.338/.385 in his first three weeks of play, Wetherholt has very much passed the eye test, and more games like this seem much more likely than not in the coming months.

No surprise here after Winn left Friday’s series opener in Detroit with hip tightness. The 24-year-old shortstop attributed the issue to overdoing it with his swing in an effort to break out of season-opening slump earlier this week prior to Wednesday evening’s car accident. It doesn’t sound like a serious concern but fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the situation this weekend. It’ll be rookie sensation JJ Wetherholt leading off with Thomas Saggese taking over at shortstop in his absence.

Heyman did not provide specifics regarding a potential extension offer from the Cardinals to Wetherholt, who is hitting .250 (4-for-16) with one homer and one steal through his first four games in the majors. Still, it would make sense for both sides to explore a deal early in his rookie season, similar to the extensions the Red Sox and Orioles reached with top prospects Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Samuel Basallo last year. This report follows Seattle’s decision to sign top prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million contract earlier on Tuesday.

Wetherholt also had a single and a stolen base earlier in the contest. He committed an error that played a small role in the Cardinals blowing a four-run lead in the ninth; he tried to glove flip the ball on a weak grounder from the speedy Chandler Simpson and missed badly, allowing Jonathan Aranda to score on what was correctly ruled an infield single (plus the error). Still, he more than made up for it with his own grounder an inning later. It looked like first baseman Aranda would have had a shot at it, but he retreated in the hopes that second baseman Ben Williamson would make the play. Instead, the ball went into right, allowing both the tying and winning runs to score. Wetherholt is 3-for-9 with a homer through two games.

The 23-year-old rookie shortstop opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 425-foot (101.7 mph EV) solo shot off of Rays’ ace Drew Rasmussen. He then added a sacrifice fly during the Cardinals’ eight-run outburst in the sixth inning. He possesses a dynamic blend of power and speed and should be an impact contributor for fantasy purposes while hitting atop the Cardinals’ lineup.

Wetherholt will make his MLB debut on Thursday and get things going for the Cardinals right away from the top of the lineup. The 23-year-old hit 306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season. He did hit only .212/.386/.394 in spring training, so expect a little bit of an adjustment period, but his understanding of the strike zone looked MLB-ready, so he will likely figure things out as long as St. Louis keeps him in the lineup. The rest of the Cardinals’ lineup is: JJ Wetherholt 2B, Ivan Herrera DH, Alec Burleson 1B, Masyn Winn SS, Nolan Gorman 3B, Jordan Walker RF, Nathan Church LF, Pedro Pages C, and Victor Scott CF.

Wetherholt will make his major-league debut against the Rays at Busch Stadium on Thursday. The 23-year-old top prospect profiles as an instant five-category fantasy contributor after hitting .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season. The seventh-overall selection in the 2024 MLB Draft will open the year as St. Louis’ starting second baseman and also serve as their top-of-the-order table-setter. He has a chance to be one of the most impactful second baseman in the entire fantasy landscape.

It’s official. Wetherholt will make his highly-anticipated big-league debut against the Rays on Thursday at Busch Stadium. The 23-year-old top prospect will open the regular season as the Cardinals starting second baseman and figures to bat near the top of the lineup. He projects as an immediate five-category impact fantasy contributor after batting .306/.421/.510 with 17 homers and 23 steals in 109 games in the upper minors last season.

Wetherholt had an opposite-field blast for his second spring home run and also added a 104 mph line out to his ledger on the day. The top prospect is slashing .278/.480/.611 this spring with more power than many had expected from him. It seems likely that he’ll be the starting second baseman for the Cardinals this season, and he should probably start going a little higher in redraft leagues.