Circle this date for Cardinals to potentially call up top prospect JJ Wetherholt

If it were up to many St. Louis Cardinals fans, JJ Wetherholt would have been in their lineup this weekend against the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, we are still at least a few weeks away from that becoming a potential reality.

While a debut in 2025 is still very much up in the air, there are some clues we can look at that may point to when Wetherholt could find his way to the big league club this season, following a similar path as their current shortstop, Masyn Winn.

If the Cardinals want to call up JJ Wetherholt in 2025, their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August makes too much sense

On August 18th, 2023, Masyn Winn made his MLB debut with the Cardinals, allowing the organization to get Winn's feet wet at the big league level while maintaining his rookie eligibility for the 2024 season.

MLB's recently introduced prospect promotion incentive rules allow organizations to earn a draft pick if they have a top 100 prospect on their Opening Day roster who goes on to win Rookie of the Year that season. Wetherholt, who is viewed as a top 20 prospect by all major scouting outlets and top five according to some, is a strong candidate to do that for the Cardinals in 2026, if he maintains rookie eligibility.

In order to do that, prospects must now exceed 45 days on the active roster prior to September 1st of any season, and position players must not accumulate more than 130 at-bats. While it's not an exact science due to the uncertain nature of how many at-bats would come to him in any given game, the best way for Wetherholt to play every day upon his debut and maintain rookie eligibility is to have him debut in late August.

Looking at the Cardinals' schedule, the club would surely want Wetherholt's MLB debut to come during a home game, setting up their Monday night series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 25th as the date fans may want to circle (with pencil) on their calendar.

While it would be exciting for Wetherholt to debut this year, there are still multiple factors at play that may delay that moment until 2026. For one, the Cardinals need to believe that Wetherholt is ready for that step. He's done nothing but rake at Triple-A thus far, but it still is a small sample size, and it would not be surprising for the club to want to see Wetherholt "fail" a bit in Memphis and rebound from that before making his way to St. Louis.

There's also the whole playing time dilemma that the Cardinals are already struggling to navigate. Fans seem to be frustrated every day when the lineup is posted, as the club just does not have enough spots in the lineup to fit everyone in. Adding Wetherholt to that mix would certainly complicate things further.

And that doesn't even include Nolan Arenado, who is currently in Jupiter in hopes that his body gets right to return around the same time that this potential Wetherholt debut could come. If Arenado is healthy, Marmol has indicated that he's going to play.

Ultimately, if the Cardinals believe Wehterholt would benefit from a debut this season, that needs to happen. Setting up Wetherholt for future success should be the top priority for the organization, even above gathering information on other key position players. Wetherholt is seen as the centerpiece of the Cardinals' young core long-term, and the more he succeeds, the greater the Cardinals' chances are of success in the future.

Keep an eye on that Pirates series, as the debut of one of the Cardinals' most important prospects so far this century may be in store.