JJ Wetherholt

Wetherholt is a shortstop by trade, but he appears to be the heir apparent at third base in St. Louis if the team is able to unload Nolan Arenado this offseason. A prospect without an obvious weakness, Wetherholt hit .306 with a .421 OBP, 17 home runs, 23 steals and a 14.7 percent strikeout rate in 109 games across Double-A and Triple-A in his first full season after getting drafted with the No. 7 overall pick in 2024. He went 23-for-26 on stolen-base attempts but isn't a burner and may slow down into his late-20s. Wetherholt has always been seen as a hit-over-power prospect, but his hit tool is good enough that he should access 15-plus homer power early in the majors and could eventually be a 20-25 homer threat in his mid-to-late-20s. It seems Arenado and the Cardinals are both motivated to find him a new home, but his market is cold, so there are no guarantees Wetherholt will be an Opening Day starter, even though he's ready and could net the Cardinals a Prospect Promotion Incentive pick. Once he's up, the lefty-hitting Wetherholt could quickly ascend to the top third of the batting order. Read Past Outlooks