3 arguments for and 3 against promoting Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt

St. Louis Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt has been tearing it up at the Triple-A level. He's already a top-five prospect according to Baseball America with room to move even higher on the list, and he's easily one of the best hitting prospects in the minors.

However, St. Louis Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has already tamped down fans' hope in seeing Wetherholt by the end of the year.

During an interview with The Morning After crew on St. Louis sports radio station 101 ESPN, Mozeliak poured cold water on a Wetherholt promotion. "It's not the protection year, so I think it's not necessarily in the best interest for the organization to do that," said Mozeliak. "Even though it might be fun and exciting, you're not forced to put them on the roster this offseason, and so that's definitely something that should be a part of the equation."

What Mo means by "it's not the protection year" is the fact that JJ isn't eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter; he doesn't need to be added to the roster due to fear of him being plucked this winter by an opposing team.

Jose Fermin being the reciprocating move following a Brendan Donovan IL placement also shows that the club doesn't have a strong desire to add their top prospect to the 40-man roster and give him major-league experience.

This reluctance to promote JJ Wetherholt is founded in some truth, but there are also several reasons to promote him.

Here are 3 reasons to promote JJ Wetherholt in 2026 and 3 reasons to keep him in Memphis.

Reason #1 against promoting him: There's no need to do it right now.

This argument goes hand-in-hand with Mozeliak's comments. Wetherholt was just drafted last year, so he still has several years before he needs to be added to the 40-man roster. They can wait until next year to add him to the roster.

This is a bit of a weak argument. Whether a player needs to be added to the roster shouldn't play an overstated role in his promotion. The fact that Mozeliak uses this argument as his sole reasoning in last week's interview is questionable.

Reason #1 for promoting him: He's really good.

Through 26 games at Triple-A Memphis (insert sample-size warning here), Wetherholt is slashing .310/.403/.670 with nine home runs, three stolen bases, 17 runs driven in, and 19 strikeouts to 15 walks. He hasn't been fazed by pitching at baseball's second-highest level thus far despite being over four years younger than his counterparts.

Wetherholt has 17 extra base hits scattered amongst his 31 total hits, and his 1.073 OPS is among the best in the International League. He's really good at hitting, and he's showing his offensive prowess in limited time in Memphis thus far.

Rookies typically struggle when they make their major-league debut, but he's hit at every level. That should suppress some worries about the ability for his bat to translate to the majors when he's promoted.