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.

Reason #2 against promoting him: He's only played 26 games at Triple-A.

This is a very small sample size of games. The gap between Triple-A and the majors has also never been greater than it is now. It's wonderful that he's tearing the cover off the ball in the minors, but he needs to prove that he can sustain this level of production for an extended period of time.

After seeing the results of promoting players too early with Dylan Carlson and Jordan Walker, one would think that the Cardinals would approach this situation with caution.

Memphis has 30 games left on their schedule. If he plays the remainder of the season with the Redbirds, he'll have a sample size greater than 50 games and 200 plate appearances. That's a meaningful collection of data that the organization can evaluate this winter and into spring training next year to see if he's ready for the big leagues.

Furthermore, Wetherholt has only played five games at third base this year as a prospect. If third base is the organization's preferred position for him in the future, he should learn the position more before being promoted.

Reason #2 for promoting him: There are ample benefits to seeing the majors, even for a little bit.

Major League Baseball is a beast.

I'm not just talking about the level of competition, which far exceeds any other level of baseball in the world. Traveling is different, the clubhouses and stadiums vary dramatically from the minors, even travel is drastically different.

Promoting JJ Wetherholt now will help him get his jitters out of the way for 2026 when he could be a full-fledged starter. It also allows him to familiarize himself with baseball in the big leagues.

When the Cardinals promoted shortstop Masyn Winn on August 18, 2023 for the final stretch, he took that experience as a time for learning. He slashed just .172/.320/.238 in 2023, but he used that experience to launch him into a 4.9-bWAR rookie season in 2024. He's not on pace to finish with more than three bWAR this year and a shot at a Platinum Glove.

Winn played 105 games in Triple-A that year, four times as many as Wetherholt has up to this point. However, Wetherholt came to St. Louis a polished collegiate athlete. Winn was drafted out of high school three years prior to his promotion. The level of competition that Wetherholt has faced throughout his career should be ample preparation for the big leagues.

Reason #3 against promoting him: There's no room for him to play at the majors.

Even with third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman Brendan Donovan on the IL, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol is trying to squeeze in playing time for Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese.

Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera are rotating between corner outfield duties and designated hitter appearances. There's not much time or space for Wetherholt on the major-league roster as things currently stand.

You don't promote a prospect of Wetherholt's caliber unless you intend on playing him every day. There's an argument that you make the roster work around JJ Wetherholt rather than the other way around, but the focus throughout the 2025 season in the majors has been to give young players full runway to prove their value or lack thereof. Bumping down Thomas Saggese, who is still only 23 and is 11 for his last 41, and Nolan Gorman, who has a .936 OPS over his last 11 games, for Wetherholt is a difficult argument to make.

With Brendan Donovan likely out just a little bit longer and Nolan Arenado starting work in Florida to recover, playing time is about to disappear even more in the final five weeks of the year.

Reason #3 for promoting him: He would bring a spark to a fizzling club.

After floating near playoff contention for most of the year, the Cardinals appear all but out of postseason contention following back-to-back series losses to the Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees last week. They're 18 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central and five back of the New York Mets for the final Wild Card spot.

There isn't much left for fans to be excited about.

A JJ Wetherholt promotion would energize an apathetic fan base ever so slightly. It could also provide a spark to the roster, one that has been replete with injuries of late.

Even if JJ Wetherholt's presence in the starting lineup on a nightly basis adds a few hundred fans, that's attendance that the players and DeWitt family would love to see at Busch Stadium.