St. Louis Cardinals 2024 first round draft pick JJ Wetherholt will soon get to scratch another item off the top prospects to-do list.
However, the 22-year-old shortstop is far from finished collecting accolades.
The No. 1 prospect in the Cardinals farm system, Wetherholt was selected to represent the Cardinals in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game. Held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, at Truist Park in Atlanta, the game will pit a team of 25 prospects from National League squads against one with 25 prospects representing American League organizations.
Wetherholt is the lone Cardinals player picked for this year’s game. He said being chosen is “a great honor.”
“This is one of those games that’s so prestigious and the majority of the people who play in it go on to have pretty successful careers,” said Wetherholt.
But Wetherholt, the No. 19 prospect in MLB, stressed that playing in this game is just part of his journey.
“So many big league All-Stars and MVPs have played in this game previously, so that’s cool. But just because you play in the Futures Game doesn't mean you're going to go on and have the greatest big league career,” he said. “You’ve still got to work your tail off. But it's also one of those things that you can just be excited for and be happy with the work that you've put in."
That work is certainly producing results. Entering Wednesday games, Wetherholt is slashing .303/.426/.447 with an .873 OPS for Double-A Springfield. He has 13 doubles, five home runs, 28 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, and Wetherholt is one of just five from the top 100 hitters in the Texas League who has more walks (41) than strikeouts (36).
Daniel Ortiz Earns FSL Weekly Honors for Palm Beach
Third baseman Deniel Ortiz is making the most of his opportunity.
A 16th-round pick in the 2024 draft, Ortiz had quite a June for Single-A Palm Beach. The 20-year-old from Caguas, Puerto Rico, got 27 hits in 81 at-bats (.333), and with 14 walks, he posted an on-base percentage of .449 for the month.
Ortiz was named Florida State League Player of the Week for the period of June 23-29. In five games, Ortiz slashed .412/.565/.765 and led the league with a 1.330 OPS, four extra-base hits and seven runs scored.
Ortiz struggled to get started in his first professional season, and he was batting .184 on May 18. But he went 13-for-31 through the remainder of May, and after a 1-for-3 game on Tuesday, Ortiz is batting .282 overall with a .407 on-base percentage.
Nathan Church Enjoys Hot June for Memphis
Nathan Church (Cardinals’ No. 21 prospect) was promoted to Triple-A Memphis after being named the Texas League Player of the Month for May. He must be on the short list of players being considered for June honors in the International League.
In 81 June at-bats across 20 games, Church posted a slash line of .358/.435/.617, with three doubles, three triples, four home runs, including a pair of grand slams, and 14 RBIs. After being held hitless in his first game with the Redbirds, Church got at least one hit in 14 straight games.