The best prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system and one of the best overall prospects in baseball, infielder JJ Wetherholt, will likely play a major role on the team in 2026.

Wetherholt (No. 5 MLB Pipeline top 100), is projected to break camp with the Cardinals as the team's starting second baseman according to FanGraphs.

Due to the large amount of expectations placed on the former top-10 MLB Draft pick, he's received a lot of playing opportunities in the first week of Grapefruit League competition.

In St. Louis' 14-3 loss against the New York Mets on Friday, Wetherholt provided one of the few highlights of the day for his team. He went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI in the loss. His only run and RBI came via a 105.4-mph, 422-foot solo home run.

It was the first homer of the spring for Wetherholt.

In four games this spring, Wetherholt has slashed .167/.500/.667 with a 1.167 OPS with his aforementioned homer and an RBI. His home run was his first hit of the spring in six at-bats. He's also drawn four walks and has a stolen base.

The 23-year-old infielder was originally selected seventh overall in the 2024 MLB Draft out of West Virginia.

Wetherholt played 29 games in Single-A ball the year he was drafted. The Cardinals were confident enough in his abilities to have him in major league camp in spring '25 as a non-roster invite.

St. Louis allowed Wetherholt to skip High-A ball entirely last season. He slashed .306/.421/.510 with a .931 OPS in 109 games across Double-A and Triple-A and hit 28 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs with 59 RBIs. He stole 23 bases in 26 opportunities.

FanGraphs' ZiPS projection model predicts Wetherholt to finish 2026 with a slash line  of .254/.338/.367 with a .705 OPS and to hit 10 home runs with 62 RBIs in 117 games.

Wetherholt currently has the third-best odds, according to BetMGM, to win National League Rookie of the Year. His odds to win the award sit at +450. He's behind Pittsburgh Pirates infielder/outfielder Konnor Griffin (+250) and New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (+400).

The Cardinals are in the middle of a top-to-bottom rebuild. There's still a lot of work the organization has to do before it returns to contender status. But, if things go as planned, Wetherholt will be one of the faces of the franchise when they do.

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