Oliver Marmol teases massive role for Cardinals' star rookie JJ Wetherholt in 2026

In case you had any doubt around the St. Louis Cardinals letting JJ Wetherholt run for the big league club right out of the gate, those can pretty much be put to rest at this point.

After the Cardinals moved both Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan this offseason, the runway (sorry to use that term again) was cleared and set up perfectly for Wetherholt to lay claim to a starting role for St. Louis in 2026. Not only have their actions backed that sentiment up, but their rhetoric has as well.

Whenever someone from the front office, coaching staff, or a fellow prospect or eager future teammate of Wetherholt speaks about him, they all have the same sense regarding the 23-year-old: He's different. Not just talent-wise, but the Cardinals' top prospect has an aura and mental approach to the game that separates him from most.

And because of that, the Cardinals don't seem hesitant in the slightest to challenge Wetherholt early and often, including the potential of him owning one of the most important positions in their lineup early this season.

Oliver Marmol teases JJ Wetherholt as the Cardinals' leadoff option ahead of first spring training games

When talking to reporters on Friday ahead of the Cardinals' first spring training game this weekend, Oliver Marmol placed Wetherholt's name firmly in the mix for that leadoff spot, which would be quite the honor for a player who has yet to make his Major League debut.

While it remains to be seen if he actually gets that honor — and I highly doubt the Cardinals would give that to him without a strong feeling that he can handle it — it is actually not all that difficult to see why they have that much confidence in him already.

First and foremost, with Donovan gone and Lars Nootbaar likely unavailable to begin the regular season, there really is no clear option for the leadoff over Wetherholt. The Cardinals could certainly go with Masyn Winn again, but he's historically struggled in that role. Victor Scott II has been hyped up by the Cardinals this offseason as well, but he owns a .206/.283/.293 slash line in 618 big league plate appearances.

Wetherholt, on the other hand, is a consensus top five prospect in the game right now and has the best hit tool in all of Minor League Baseball outside consensus number two prospect, Kevin McGonigle. Wetherholt slashed .306/.421/.510 with a 154 wRC+ across Double-A and Triple-A in 2026, and his numbers actually got better when he was promoted to Memphis for the final 47 games of the year.

Heading into draft season in 2024, Wetherholt was the favorite to be the first overall pick, but slid to the Cardinals at seven due to a hamstring injury he dealt with during his final season at West Virginia. He still managed to post a 145 wRC+ in 36 games for the Mountaineers, and during his sophomore campaign in 2023, Wetherholt slashed .449/.517/.787 with 16 home runs, 60 RBI, and 36 stolen bases in 55 games!

Now, does that mean Wetherholt is going to produce right away in St. Louis or even become a standout talent? No, but this is a different pedigree of prospect than the Cardinals have seen in quite some time. Sure, Jordan Walker and Dylan Carlson were highly regarded by the time they debuted, but neither player was seen as a top 25 prospect in the game as soon as they were drafted. The Cardinals are still extremely lucky that he was available to them with the seventh overall pick, and he's done nothing but produce thus far in his career.

He's also already proven he can overcome adversity in various ways in his short professional career. Wetherholt went 0-17 in his first four games at Double-A in 2025, and then turned around and posted that incredible slash line that he finished with on the year. Wetherholt also missed time in April due to the flu, and that didn't end up fazing him either.

Keep an eye on the Cardinals' lineups this spring, as Wetherholt may end up getting to lead off for St. Louis come Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Rays.