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#5 - JJ Wetherholt
The seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, JJ Wetherholt, continues to show why he had number one pick worthy talent each and every day he shows up to the ballpark.
The Cardinals had Wetherholt begin the 2025 season in Double-A, completely skipping High-A in an aggressive move to see how he fared against more advanced pitching. Well, it didn't take long for him to get adjusted.
Wetherholt struggled during his first week of action, but has quickly made the Texas League his playground as he shows off his elite hit tool and growing power in his bat. In 94 at-bats, Wetherholt is slashing .298/.387/.426 with two home runs and 14 RBI. Wetherholt just sent a baseball to the moon on Saturday night that displays the kind of power he hopes to continue to tap into.
What makes Wetherholt so special of a talent is his all-around ability at the plate to get on base and do damage in the process. Wetherholt hits the ball to all fields, and may be one of the best young hitters in the minor leagues at driving the baseball the opposite way. He does this while also having a really good feel for the strike zone, rarely striking out while also drawing walks at a good rate.
While Wetherholt is unlikely to be a big-time power hitter ever in his career, he is someone who could end up hitting around .300, posting an extremely high on-base percentage, finishing near the top of MLB in doubles, and hitting 20 or so home runs in some of his best years. He's about as pure of a hitter as it gets as a prospect, and the Cardinals have to love what they are seeing from the 22-year-old.
Wetherholt is still a prospect, though, and one without a ton of sample size yet. He is recognized by most outlets as a top 30 prospect in the game already, but I think this is the cap of where he should be on the most valuable young Cardinals list because we have not seen him at the big league level yet. I do not expect to until 2026, and that is totally okay. I have a ton of confidence in the floor that Wetherholt boasts offensively, and if he can continue to push toward his ceiling, he'll fly up this list even further in the near future.