Wetherholt, one of the top prospects in the sport, is expected to make his major league debut in 2026.
Fangraphs released its popular ZIPS projections for the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, and while the service expects the group to be exceedingly average in most spots, they did give an exciting projection for young rookie JJ Wetherholt, who was just ranked as the No. 3 prospect in baseball by Baseball America earlier this week.
About Wetherholt#
A versatile infielder, Wetherholt was drafted No. 7 overall by the Cardinals in 2024 out of West Virginia. His debut is likely to be the most exciting part of this season's rebuild for fans, and he could even begin the season on the big-league roster. With Nolan Arenado traded, there is an opening at third base, and if Brendan Donovan is dealt, there is an opening at second, giving him multiple paths to big league playing time.
Playing 109 games between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis in 2025, he hit .306 with 17 home runs, 59 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
What ZIPS is projecting#
The group has him getting 523 plate appearances, or close to a full season's workload. Evidently, they think he'll be up in the big leagues sooner rather than later. Beyond that, they have him hitting .254 with a .338 on-base percentage, which is actually higher than an established big leaguer like Masyn Winn (.250/.306).
They also expected Wetherholt to hit 10 home runs, 20 doubles and to bring in 62 runs. He's ticketed for 12 stolen bases. They have him mostly playing third base, helping raise the projected WAR of that group to 3.2 - the second highest on the roster.
How would that be?#
If Wetherholt hits those numbers, that would point to an extremely successful rookie season. To put up double-digit home runs and 20 doubles in just your second full professional campaign would be quite an accomplishment and would give Cardinals fans reason to be excited moving forward.
Other things to note#
--The projections also expect Lars Nootbaar to rebound, giving him 16 home runs and 54 RBIs.
--They've got the newly signed Dustin May going 7-8 with a 4.15 ERA.
--With Yadier Molina now in the fold as a special assistant to Chaim Bloom, we are wondering if he's going to end up being in the mix for the team's manager down the road. Read the story and give us your takes on it here.
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