Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 65 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 60

A Pittsburgh area native, Wetherholt stayed in the region by heading to West Virginia for college ball. He had a solid freshman season then broke out as a sophomore, winning the Division I batting title and earning Big 12 Conference Player of the Year after hitting .449/.517/.787 with 16 homers and 36 steals. He performed well both for Team USA and in a brief stint in the Cape Cod League to set the stage for a big junior season. Excitement for an encore has been dashed as a recurring hamstring issue that first cropped up over the summer has sidelined him repeatedly this spring.

Wetherholt might be the best pure hitter in the class and there are some area scouts who think he’s the best amateur bat they’ve ever seen. The left-handed hitter drives the ball to all fields with authority with excellent pitch recognition and elite bat-to-ball skills that resulted in a miniscule 10 percent miss rate in 2023 with the Mountaineers. He has shown the ability to hit the ball over the fence in all directions and should have at least average power at the next level.

A plus runner who is a legitimate base-stealing threat when healthy, the only real question about Wetherholt has been his defensive home. He was hoping to improve that area of his profile by playing shortstop for the first time this spring, but the hamstring issue kept him from seeing too much time on the dirt. Some feel he has the arm and feel to do it, while he’ll have to focus on being consistent in making the routine plays. Even if he profiles as a second baseman, though, his bat belongs near the top of Draft boards.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 65 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 60 

A Pittsburgh area native, Wetherholt stayed in the region by heading to West Virginia for college ball. He had a solid freshman season, then broke out as a sophomore, winning the Division I batting title and earning Big 12 Conference Player of the Year after slashing .449/.517/.787 with 16 homers and 36 steals. He performed well both for Team USA and in a brief stint in the Cape Cod League to set the stage for a big junior season. Excitement for an encore was dashed as a recurring hamstring issue that first cropped up over the summer sidelined him repeatedly in the spring. He was still considered a potential No. 1 overall pick right up to Draft day, but went seventh overall to the Cardinals, signing for $6.9 million. 

Wetherholt might have been the best pure hitter in the class, and there were some area scouts who think he’s the best amateur bat they’ve ever seen. The left-handed hitter drives the ball to all fields with authority with excellent pitch recognition and elite bat-to-ball skills that resulted in a miniscule 10 percent miss rate in 2023 with the Mountaineers. He has shown the ability to hit the ball over the fence in all directions and was showing impressive exit velocities in the early days of his pro career. 

A plus runner who is a legitimate base-stealing threat when healthy, the only real question about Wetherholt has been his defensive home. He was hoping to improve that area of his profile by playing shortstop for the first time this spring, but the hamstring issue kept him from seeing too much time on the dirt. Some feel he has the arm and feel to do it, while he’ll have to focus on being consistent in making the routine plays. He should get a lot of shortstop run in the Cards system right up until he bumps up against Masyn Winn at the six in St. Louis. 

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	07/30/2024	SS JJ Wetherholt assigned to Palm Beach Cardinals from FCL Cardinals.
	07/23/2024	SS JJ Wetherholt assigned to FCL Cardinals.
	07/23/2024	St. Louis Cardinals signed SS JJ Wetherholt.
	06/16/2024	College Workout activated 2B JJ Wetherholt.
	06/11/2024	2B JJ Wetherholt assigned to College Workout.
	04/08/2024	2B JJ Wetherholt assigned to West Virginia Mountaineers.
	06/26/2023	2B JJ Wetherholt assigned to USAB Stripes Team.
	06/08/2023	2B JJ Wetherholt assigned to College Workout.
	04/11/2022	2B JJ Wetherholt assigned to West Virginia Mountaineers.