Grading the Cardinals' last 5 first round draft picks

2024: SS JJ Wetherholt, 7th overall

And finally, the most recent first-round pick came when the Cardinals had a top-10 selection for the first time since 1998 when they selected J.D. Drew with the fifth overall pick. The Cardinals were lucky enough to land with the number seven selection in the MLB Draft Lottery and used it to choose West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt. Coming into the 2024 season, Wetherholt was seen as one of the best pure hitters in the entire draft class, if not the best, but he ran into injury concerns that limited him to a DH role in his junior season. The hamstring did not seem to hinder him too much, as he hit .331 the year after being a Golden Spikes award finalist.

St. Louis opted to give Wetherholt a taste of professional baseball with a quick cameo down in Palm Beach. His 29-game sample ended with the lefty infielder hitting .295 while walking more times than he struck out as a 21-year-old in Single-A. His run was impressive enough to gain a non-roster invite to Spring Training, and he was able to hold his own with a homer and six walks through six exhibition games before being sent back to minor league camp.

This is when Wetherholt's progression really showed. He was aggressively promoted to Double-A Springfield at the start of the year with the opportunity to play both shortstop and second base as he worked to gain some positional flexibility on the infield. Once again, Wetherholt was looking like a major steal as the number seven pick, as he hit .300 with seven homers, 14 doubles, and 34 RBIs while adding 14 stolen bases to his stat line. He again tallied more walks (44) than strikeouts (40) and forced his way to a promotion to Triple-A Memphis.

Wetherholt was not fazed at the new level and made his debut in spectacular fashion, hitting a sun-aided triple in his first AAA at-bat before bombing a no-doubt 424-foot homer to center in his second plate appearance. He followed up that performance with an opposite field double in his next game with Memphis. The Baltimore native was named to the MLB Futures Game as part of All-Star weekend and was quickly honored with being named the leadoff hitter for the NL Futures squad. He repaid the selection with a double to start the bottom half of the first inning and finished the game 1-for-4 as one of just two NL players to play the entire game.

It is clear that the Cardinals see Wetherholt as a franchise piece, and if he continues progressing the way he has, he may force the organization's hand for a late-season call-up up depending on the playoff picture. More likely, he will play his way into another spring training invite and push for a 26-man roster spot, once again depending on what the organization does with their current personnel.

Even though we are just a year out from Wetherholt's selection, it appears the Cardinals hit the nail on the head with the pick. Behind Wetherholt, guys like Christian Moore of the Angels and Cam Smith of the Astros (thanks, Cubs) have made their MLB debuts, while Konnor Griffin of the Pirates is the lone 2024 first-round infielder ranked ahead of him on the Top-100 list.

Overall grade: A+. The Cardinals did not have an immediate opening in on the roster for guys like Moore and Smith, and if the potential top hitter of the draft is going to be available to you, you take him! Wetherholt is not just a masher, either; he has excellent plate discipline and athleticism, while his attitude shows he just wants to play, no matter where it is on the field. If Wetherholt is not in St. Louis in 2026, the Cardinals will have some questions to answer.