The St. Louis Cardinals are getting set to break camp and start their 2026 regular season. They have one more game to play as they’ll face their Double-A affiliate, the Springfield Cardinals, tonight. They open the season at home on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. The St. Louis Cardinals confirmed today that their top prospect and the fifth overall prospect in baseball, JJ Wetherholt, will be on the Opening Day roster. Wetherholt this spring in 15 games hit .212 with a .780 OPS. He had two home runs, seven RBI, six runs scored, and two stolen bases.
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JJ Wetherholt
The Cardinals drafted Wetherholt seventh overall in the 2024 MLB Draft. He spent three seasons with West Virginia in the NCAA, where in 145 games he hit .370 with a 1.092 OPS. Wetherholt had 49 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs, 129 RBI, 148 runs scored, and 82 walks. He joined Single-A Palm Beach after being drafted, where in 29 games he hit .306 with a .931 OPS. He had five doubles, two home runs, 20 RBI, 18 runs scored, and two stolen bases.
Last season, he split time between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. In 109 games between the two levels, he hit .306 with a .931 OPS. He had 28 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs, 59 RBI, 82 runs scored, and 23 stolen bases. In 47 games at Triple-A, he hit .314 with a .978 OPS. He had 14 doubles, a triple, ten home runs, 25 RBI, 43 runs scored, and nine stolen bases.
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