Greetings on this pleasant Friday afternoon.
Update: 27 days until the Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Louis Cardinals play their first real ballgame of the season on March 26 at Busch Stadium. I believe it’s best known as Opening Day.
Today’s Topic: All about Jonathan David Wetherholt.
Wait a second. What? Is Jonathan David any relation to JJ Wetherholt, the Cardinals’ hotshot rookie? Maybe a cousin, or something?
Here’s the backstory from longtime sports columnist Bob Hertzel, a wonderful curmudgeon who frequently writes about West Virginia U sports – the institution of higher learning where Wetherholt became a baseball star.
These are Hertzel’s words from a long-ago story:
So how is he JJ?
“My grandma, she just placed it there,” Wetherholt said.
Well, not exactly.
“She called me John-John growing up,” Wetherholt explained. “When I moved from Baltimore to Pittsburgh (as a kid), I showed up at a youth football camp and the coach asked my dad what my name was.”
“Well,” his dad answered the coach, “his name is Jonathan, but we call him John-John”.
To which the coach replied, “I’m not calling him that. We’ll go JJ.”
And JJ stuck.
JJ stuck then.
And JJ will stick now.
Unless there’s some sport of unexpected physical ailment (thoughts and prayers) he’ll be the starting second baseman for the Cardinals’ regular-season opener.
I’ve been chuckling for a couple of months now about this idea of Wetherholt having to play his way onto the big club during spring training, or that he’d be sent to Triple A Memphis for the early part of 2026.
The Cardinals have been oddly coy, pretending that Jonathan David had to “earn” his Birds on the Bat uniform, even though Chaim Bloom and Oli Marmol, and the DeWitts, and everyone associated with the franchise or the prospect-watch industry knew – with total certainly – that Wetherholt would graduate to the big leagues before Game No. 1 of 162. And they’re all very excited about this, because no player represents the new era of Cardinals baseball like Jonathan David. And so, yeah, we can call him JJ because he’ll always be JJ here, as a Cardinal.
Bloom finally let the JJ out of the bag two weekends ago. The new president of baseball operations aired his true feelings during a national interview on Zoom with local and national media.
“I mean you see what he does on the field,” Bloom said. “He makes some really difficult things look really easy. He's certainly met every challenge that has been thrown his way so far, especially at the plate.
“What's impressive about him to be on that is really just how he handles himself. Obviously, he hasn't been tested at the highest level with this, but when you look at how people gravitate to him, it is something that it's very authentic. It's very natural.
“He has a lot of poise. He has a lot of energy, a lot of drive, but it's not something that feels manufactured or fake. And that's really impressive, just the way he goes about his business, the maturity, the purpose, the intent with which he goes about what he does every day. That, along with the talent, that's a pretty rare combination and it's exciting.”
And yet … even now … when it’s so obvious that Wetherholt is a lock to make the 26-man roster, there’s this absolutely bizarre faction in the fan base that is certain the Cardinals want to send JJ to the minors and will send him to the minors. Why? I don’t know. You’ll have to ask them.
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?
Tell us what the frequency is.
My friend and KMOX colleague Matt Pauley has picked up on this and had this to say Friday afternoon on the ‘X’ platform:
“One of the weirdest things happening right now is the contingent of #STLCards fans who are convinced that the team does not want Wetherholt to make the Opening Day roster.
I hear this from people who listen on KMOX everyday. I don't get it. He is going to get EVERY chance in the world to make the roster!”
And he’ll be on the roster.
Unless, of course, the Cardinals are bat-dung crazy.
In other related news, our friends at MLB Trade Rumors picked Friday to post a reader’s poll on Wetherholt.
The question: “How do MLBTR readers expect the Cardinals to handle their second base camp battle? Will Wetherholt force his way onto the big league roster? Will they instead give someone like [Thomas] Saggese or [Jose] Fermin the first look? Or will none of the three youngsters take the job confidently enough to stop St. Louis from defaulting to the veteran presence of [Ramon] Urias?
I checked to see how the vote was going, and ay 3 p.m. Friday, 72 percent of the respondents believed Wetherholt will “break camp with the Cardinals.”
That’s a pretty sturdy percentage. But as Derrick Goold said on X:
“Um, who is voting no here?”
(Derrick, I could answer this in any number of ways, but I’ll show some discipline.)
The Cardinals have every reason to install Wetherholt at second base when the season-opening roster is set.
1. He was the 7th overall pick in the 2024 draft and widely considered the top hitter on the board before a hamstring injury stifled the buzz.
2. He destroyed pitching at three different levels in the minors in 622 plate appearances after being drafted.
3. Excellent plate discipline, mature approach to hitting, doesn’t chase junk off the plate, superb contact rate, hits to all fields, advanced plate approach, extremely confident, and is in a perpetual search to find ways to improve. I’ve had Cardinal fans tell me, “We heard all of this baloney about Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman.” Oh, is that right Charlie Lau? Wetherholt 88 walks and 88 strikeouts in the minors. That’s exceptional. And rare. How in the world does such fantastic knowledge of the strike zone connect JJ to Walker or Gorman?
4. He’s played three different infield positions in college and in the minors (all but first base) which is a very good thing for a manager and a front office that values flexibility. (Re: Tommy Edman, Brendan Donovan. We liked Donny, no?)
5. You may have noticed that the St. Louis baseball Cardinals have no stars, little pizazz, sparse offense, and don’t have anyone who can match Wetherholt’s combination of pure talent, charisma, boldness in personality, and an edgy competitive attitude that can carry over to teammates. JJ is no follower. He’s a leader. This is a rebuild. He is the positive face of this rebuild.
So I’m with Matt Pauley. And Derrick Good. I don’t understand this fear and dread of letting a substantial talent plug in and play on a rebuilding squad that’s short of just about everything.
Not knowing any better, you’d think this fella JJ was some unknown rando, chosen in the 19th round, with little potential to amount to anything other than a roster-filling clump at Double A.
This top prospect with the silken swing hit is ready for his closeup. What’s that? He has one hit in six at-bats so far this spring? Have you looked at the “walks” column? He has four of ‘em. Friday, Wetherholt went with an air assault for his first home run in the Grapefruit League. In his first four games, Wetherholt has a .500 onbase percentage, .667 slug, 1.167 OPS and has already scored four runs. He’s scored four times because he’s reached base five times in 10 plate appearances.
What are those walks all about? This is JJ saying something like this to the pitchers: “Dudes. Please. You think I’m gonna lunge and swing at that garbage? Bleep that.”
(Just a reminder: walks are good!)
The Cardinals have another large motivation to open the season with Wetherholt on the club.
The PPI – Prospect Promotion Incentive. They can earn an additional high draft pick for 2027 if Wetherholt meets these conditions:
Prospect rating: He must be a preseason Top 100 prospect on at least two of the lists put out by MLB Pipeline, Baseball America or ESPN). No problem. Wetherholt has already qualified.
Service time: Wetherholt must accrue a full year of MLB service – which amounts to 172 days on the active roster or injured list. He easily qualifies just by being on the roster for the entire season.
Performance: The Cardinals will receive the draft pick – slotted immediately after the first round – if Wetherholt satisfies one of the following requirements before becoming arbitration eligible: (a) wins the 2026 NL Rookie of the Year award in 2026 or (b) finishes in the top three for the National League MVP voting.
Chaim Bloom is greedy for prospects, and wants to collect draft picks. The president of baseball ops knows that Wetherholt is fully capable of securing another premium draft choice to assist the front-office’s rebuilding initiative.
I hope we see Wetherholt batting leadoff for the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on March 26. You think he might want that? Why do you think he’s drawing so many walks? This is what the best leadoff hitters do. And this is exactly what the Cardinals need at the top spot. Yeah, I say this for a reason and am happy to back it up with facts.
Here’s a reason why the Cardinals offense has been such a drag since the start of the 2024 season. Take a peek at where they ranked among the 30 MLB teams in leadoff-spot performance over the past two seasons:
Walk rate, 21st
Batting average, 27th
On-base pct, 28th
Slugging pct, 26th
OPS, 27th
wOBA, 27th
wRC+, 27th
Runs scored, 24th
Keep walking, JJ … all the way to St. Louis.
See ya on Opening Day. Let the new era begin.
OUTSIDE VIEWS ON WETHERHOLT
— Keith Law (The Athletic) ranked Wetherholt No. 2 on his list of rookies most likely to make impact in 2026
“The trade of Brendan Donovan opened a path for Wetherholt to win the Opening Day second-base job, which he should, as the Cardinals’ 2024 first-round pick has hit everywhere so far — and played close to a full season last year, easing concerns about his durability after a nagging hamstring injury wrecked his junior year at West Virginia.
“This top prospect hit .300/.425/.466 in Double A last year, then .314/.416/.562 in Triple A, with a hard-hit rate at the latter stop of 48.4 percent. He’s going to be an above-average or better defender at second, and if nothing else should hit for a high average. The National League Rookie of the Year field is loaded already, but he’s my pick for the favorite right now.”
— Jonathan Mayo, MLB Pipeline, offered effusive praise of Wetherholt when we asked him about JJ on KMOX earlier this week.
“I thought he was ready (for the majors) at the end of last year. And, you know, in another situation, may have been given the opportunity. I don't see anything wrong with giving him a full healthy (2025) season in the minors, but man, he can really, really hit,” Mayo said. “And he does everything well. And so even if he's in a little bit of a slump, he's going to run the bases. He's going to play decent defense wherever you end up putting him.
“You know, he's not a shortstop, but it's fine. The Cardinals don't really need him to play shortstop. He could fill in there if he needed him. I think he has a chance to be a really good defensive second baseman. He's fine at third, but it's really the advanced offensive approach and feel to hit. He hits the ball hard.
He runs the bases well and aggressively. And more than anything, he's got such a good head on his shoulders.
“He carries himself in a way where, if you see him even around spring training, or you guys see him early on in the clubhouse, players are going to gravitate towards him, even though he's still only 23 years old. He's got that ‘It’ factor without being too cocky.
“I think he is going to be a center point for that lineup for a very long time.”
— Baseball America: “He’s a star in the making and the best hitter the Cardinals have produced in a decade.”
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend…
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.