Cardinals' most important prospect in years makes bold claim about club's direction

I think we can all collectively agree that the way the St. Louis Cardinals handled their major league roster this offseason was maddening. Going into the offseason, they seemed destined to both trade away veterans from their roster and let their impending free agents walk. Well, they certainly did the latter, but otherwise, the club remains mostly the same.

That had a direct impact on young big leaguers for sure, namely arms who are just getting their teeth cut in St. Louis or will soon be ready to. On the position player side of things, most of their starting roles will go to young bats, but Nolan Arenado's presence does complicate things.

I've been quick to criticize the Cardinals for how they've handled their big league roster this winter, but one thing I have sung their praises about (and will continue to do so until proven otherwise) is the investment that they have begun to make in the area of player development.

First, tabbing Chaim Bloom as John Mozeliak's successor is a major indication of their serious desire to become one of the best organizations at developing their own talent once again. Then, Bloom's front office and coaching hires this offseason, along with the improvements to infrastructure that we've heard so far (or are planning on happening), will help the Cardinals get back to the cutting edge of today's game.

It turns out that the media and fans are not the only ones taking notice of this. In fact, it sounds like the Cardinals' top prospects are over the moon about these changes.

JJ Wetherholt has high praise for the player development investments the Cardinals are making

I think it is safe to say that JJ Wetherholt is the most important prospect the Cardinals have had since Oscar Taveras. No prospect the Cardinals have had over the last two decades has entered their system with as much pedigree and praise as Wetherholt. This is mostly due to the fact that the Cardinals had not selected in the top 10 of an MLB Draft since 1998, so to get a talent like Wetherholt in the draft is something they have not had the opportunity to do.

Now Wetherholt is the clear top prospect in their system, and upon arriving at his first big league camp, he was asked by KSDK's Corey Miller about the Cardinals' shift toward emphasizing player development and opportunity for young talent. Take a look at the high praise Wetherholt gave St. Louis.

"I think collectively, kind of all of the guys who are in the same position as me are super thankful that that's what is happening. This is probably the best time to be a Cardinal, an up-and-coming prospect in the Cardinals organization that you can imagine. Just hearing what they have planned for, and like you said, pouring more and more resources into guys to build from within, it's huge. Being able to develop players better than other organizations develop players, it's the key to success."

"The best time to be a Cardinals prospect that you can imagine" is extremely high praise from someone like Wetherholt. Sure, it's also a commentary on how things had not been that great for Cardinals' prospects years prior, but Wetherholt sees both the value and the encouraging direction the Cardinals are heading in.

Some of you may have your doubts that things will actually get better, and sure, we still need to see the results before we can fully subscribe to that. But Bloom is the one in charge of this player development overhaul, and it's Bloom who will be in charge of the Cardinals' baseball operations following the 2025 season. The present and future of prospects like Wetherholt, Quinn Mathews, Tink Hence, and any current and future prospects are in Bloom's hands, not Mozeliak.

It will be fascinating to see how things play out over the coming months and years, but all signs seem to indicate brighter days are ahead for the Cardinals' organization.