FORT WORTH, Texas — A few weeks ago, a vision stirred JJ Wetherholt from a nap.
It wasn’t him standing at the Major League Baseball draft greeted by a specific logo or playing with a familiar hat, but just the name of a team over and over and over again. He quickly texted his adviser to share what he saw: “I think I’m going to be a Cardinal.â€
He looked down Sunday at his new jersey and was — a Cardinal.
“Supernatural, I guess,†he said.
With their highest pick in nearly 30 years, the Cardinals selected Wetherholt, an infielder from the University of West Virginia, with the seventh pick Sunday night in the first round of the annual MLB draft. Some industry publications had Wetherholt going first, and several ranked him as the top college position player entering this past season.
He was the first of the players in attendance at Cowtown Coliseum to be drafted, so he got to take the stage wearing his new jersey, a new hat, and a bolo tie purchased earlier for “that Texas look.†He later became the first MLB draft pick to sign branded baseballs immediately after being selected and have them authenticated at the event.
JJ Wetherholt, an infielder who played collegiately at West Virginia, signs a baseball after being selected by the Cardinals with the seventh pick in the MLB draft on Sunday, July 13, 2024, at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Derrick Goold)
As he finished a signature, he explained: “Visions popped in my head about being a Cardinal and it turned out to be true. I’m a Cardinal.â€
College standout
Wetherholt, a left-handed hitter who turns 22 in September, surged to national acclaim when he hit .449 as a sophomore for West Virginia and hit 16 homers in 55 games to slug .787. He was considered one of the finest natural hitters for Team USA’s national collegiate team. In college, he had as many strikeouts (82) as walks (82) in 145 games and finished his West Virginia career with 206 hits, 81 of which went for extra bases.
“Just looking at his batting line, back of the baseball card, he’s hit, and he’s always hit,†said Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores, who is helming his ninth draft as director of scouting. “JJ we believe can handle the spotlight on him and being a selection this high.â€
A shortstop who is comfortable playing a variety of positions, Wetherholt entered this past season with lofty expectations, and mock drafts from to Baseball America had him going No. 1 or No. 2 overall this summer. A hamstring injury chomped into his season and left him with 36 games to play and a .331 average to go with a .589 slugging percentage. He reached base 77 times in the 36 games he played.
West Virginia's J.J. Wetherholt runs to first against Youngstown State during an NCAA college baseball game Thursday, March 24, 2022, in Morgantown, W.Va.Â
The Cardinals were intrigued by his contact knack at the plate and power he showed with a wood bat, though they were unsure he would be available at No. 7, their highest pick since 1998.
As the first round unfolded and college pitchers Wake Forest’s Chase Burns and Arkansas’ Hagen Smith went early — either of whom would have been a target for the Cardinals at No. 7 — Wetherholt remained available.
“I think they got the steal of the draft,†said Wetherholt’s father, Mike Wetherholt, who was backstage at the draft event. “It’s actually, in my opinion, the best possible outcome because 50¶È»ÒÊÓƵ never picks in the top 10. And if you play for a team that’s the team I want you to play for, so it worked out. I can’t believe it.â€
JJ’s mother, Holly Wetherholt, described her son as “a winner.â€
She noted his confidence.
‘Five-tool player’
During an interview at MLB’s draft event, Wetherholt referred to himself as “a baller†and also a “five-tool player.†His mother smiled and referred to him as “goal-oriented,†and then she acknowledged how difficult the hamstring injury was for her son. He worked with a trainer from the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers to get back from the injury, Holly Wetherholt said, and there were times the Cardinals were present for his games that they saw him play through the injury, sometimes restricted by it.
“It was a challenge,†JJ said. “It was the most time I spent away from baseball, being injured. It was an opportunity for me to learn. … I was just sharper mentally. I went with the flow of things better. I had to grind coming back. (My) timing was thrown off. Haven’t played ball in a while. You have to put all that away. You’ve got to put away how you feel, how your body feels, how your brain feels, and you’ve just got to go out there and play and compete. I think I became a tougher player because of it.â€
Wetherholt is positioned for one of the largest offers the Cardinals have presented a first-round pick in the modern draft. The suggested bonus for the seventh pick is $6,823,700. That is nearly 70% of the Cardinals’ total purse to spend on the draft, though they are one of the four teams to go over the limit and pay tax each of the past 12 years.
Cardinals assistant general manager Randy Flores speaks with the media via Zoom on Sunday, July 14, 2024, after the Cardinals picked JJ Wetherholt seventh overall in the Major League Baseball draft.
Flores never had picked higher than 18th in his eight previous years running the Cardinals’ draft. Last year’s losing record and last-place finish in the National League Central gave the Cardinals the fifth-best odds at the No. 1 pick. The lottery was unkind. The Cardinals slipped to seventh overall as Cincinnati leapfrogged them to the No. 2 pick.
The Reds selected Wake Forest’s Burns.
Cleveland scored the first pick and selected Travis Bazzana, a super-charged hitter and infielder from Oregon State who grew up in Australia.
The Cardinals do not pick again until No. 80 on Monday, the second day of the three-day draft. They forfeited their second-round pick to sign free-agent pitcher Sonny Gray and they did not receive a compensation or competitive-balance pick added to their portfolio for this draft.
Getting going
Wetherholt will begin his career with the Cardinals on the left side of the infield, Flores said, likely starting routinely at shortstop. His future could be at second base.
He’s shown proficiency at multiple positions, and Flores said his “athleticism bodes well for his flexibility.†As the draft continued on the main floor of the Fort Worth Stockyards, Wetherholt spoke to the Post-Dispatch backstage while signing box after box of baseballs, his West Virginia ring catching any flashes from cameras that captured him in action.
He said his bat, not his position, is going to guide his career.
“Like a Swiss Army Knife, man,†he said when asked to describe himself as a hitter. “Beat you with power, beat you in the gaps, beat you with a bunt, and beat you on the bases.â€
A Pittsburgh Pirates fan growing up, he attended a Cardinals-Pirates game this past year and spent part of the game chatting with Cardinals fans. The Cardinals’ first hint of their interest in him came during the MLB Combine, where an interview with the Cardinals went exceptionally well for both sides. The Cardinals were impressed with how Wetherholt described his goals and his recovery from injury, and Wetherholt said he was struck by the Cardinals’ “mental approach†and how he felt he could improve in their organization.
JJ Wetherholt, an infielder who played at West Virginia, talks with members of the media moments after the Cardinals selected with the seventh pick in the MLB draft on Sunday, July 13, 2024. Â
“I know they win,†Wetherholt said. “I grew up, honestly, watching a lot of games where they beat the Pirates, and I was like, dang it. Flip that page. We’re going to put that Cardinals hat on.â€
He had a few weeks to prepare for that after seeing himself as a Cardinal.
As he began signing the baseballs, an MLB official told him that they were not going to ask him for his jersey. He got to keep the first Cardinals jersey he ever owned, the first he ever wore as the seventh pick.
Wetherholt took a break from signing the baseballs to check his phone and see the dozens and dozens and dozens of messages that had accumulated. As he scrolled through them, he said he already took a moment to make one call — to a former college teammate and current Cardinals prospect, outfielder Victor Scott II. He called it a moment they got to share.
“I said I’d see him soon,†Wetherholt said. “We’ve got to get to work.â€
