JJ Wetherholt Joins Cardinals, Ready for Opening Day

0:00On March 23rd, the St. Louis Cardinals have named their top prospect, JJ Weatherholt, to the opening day roster. Baseball's number five overall prospect will start at second base Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays at 315 pm Central Time. He is set to hit lead off or bat second behind shortstop Mason Wynn. Earlier this week, Cardinals' president of Baseball Operations High and Bloom shared the news with reporters. The 23-year-old Lefty Swinger was drafted seventh overall in 2024 out of West Virginia University. He rocketed through the minors, hitting 304 with solid on-base skills, power, and 19 home runs over 138 games. In spring training, Weatherholt impressed with a 780 OPS across 15 games. He tied for the team lead with 9 walks and notched the second most RBI's with 7. His played discipline and hard contact have scouts eyeing him as a 300 hitter with above average speed for double-digit steals and homers.

1:00Coach has highlighted his professional at-bats and coachability while teammates rave about his all-around game. He has polished his second base defense this spring after playing mostly shortstop into minors. That should pair well with Wynn's standout glovework up the middle. With Weatherholt locked in, the Cardinals gain a versatile bat and defender to kick off the season strong. From around the league, powered by AI, this is MLB News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.