JJ Wetherholt, MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 prospect, crushed his fifth leadoff home run for the Memphis Redbirds on Friday, continuing his hot streak since getting promoted to Triple-A. The Cardinals’ first-round pick has launched eight homers since arriving in Memphis on July 7, per MLB.com’s John Denton.
But here’s what’s interesting—Wetherholt isn’t buying into his own power surge.
My hitting profile isn’t where the flash is coming from homers. It’s been great lately, but I need to be more consistent in the barrel and using the whole field. I’m usually good at controlling the left-center gap, and that’s something that has been hit or miss lately. I want to get back to using the whole field and get back to being a threat to the pitchers—not because I might hit a leadoff homer, but because I might hit a double on every pitch.
That’s the kind of self-awareness you don’t often hear from a player putting up these numbers. Wetherholt earned the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Month award for July and he’s slashing .297/.394/.648 over 24 games for Memphis. Those aren’t exactly numbers that scream “needs improvement.”
Which brings up the obvious question—could the 2024 first-rounder help a St. Louis team that’s currently without Nolan Arenado (right shoulder strain) at third base? Wetherholt’s been getting work at third recently, and his bat’s clearly ready for a bigger challenge.
The way I see it, it’s not crazy to think about a September call-up if he keeps this up. But Wetherholt’s staying focused on the process rather than getting ahead of himself.
I’m just trying to get better and whatever happens, happens. It’s not my decision and it’s not something I’m focused on; I’m focused on getting better, learning different positions, learning how to hit and being more consistent and continue to develop as a player. That’s where my head’s at now.
All things considered, that’s probably the right approach. But if you’re the Cardinals and you’re watching a top prospect tear up Triple-A pitching while your veteran third baseman’s dealing with injury issues, you’ve got to be thinking about what September might look like.
