Latest news with #Wetherholt
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cardinals Farm Report: Pitching Prospects Finish Strong Before All-Star Break
Cardinals Farm Report: Pitching Prospects Finish Strong Before All-Star Break originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In each of their final starts before the MLB All-Star Break, three pitching prospects in the St. Louis Cardinals organization had big performances on the bump. Advertisement Here's a look at each of their solid outings, along with an update on perhaps the organization's most exciting prospect: Tekoah Roby, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A) Roby, the Cardinals' No. 10 prospect, turned in 5 2/3 innings of shutout work for the Redbirds on July 10, striking out six and only walking one batter. The 23-year-old righty has been dominant on the mound over his last four starts, carrying an ERA of 0.86 and a 1.10 WHIP with 21 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched to lower his season ERA to 3.10 with 87 strikeouts in 78 1/3 innings of work. Quinn Mathews, Memphis Redbirds (Triple-A) Like Roby, Mathews put up four shutout innings for the Redbirds last week. The team's No. 2 prospect struck out five and walked two in the outing, bouncing back from a rough start on July 5, in which he allowed four runs on two hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Advertisement St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Quinn Mathews throws during Spring Training on Feb. 12, 2025. Jim Rassol-Imagn ImagesJim Rassol-Imagn Images Dating back to his May 19 return from IL, the 24-year-old has had a tough time finding consistency on the bump, following a good start with a bad start and vice versa. With a week off for All-Star festivities, the southpaw could use this time to mentally regroup and build off the way he finished his last start. Ixan Henderson, Springfield Cardinals (Double-A) Henderson, the Cardinals' No. 25 prospect, put together a quality start before the break, turning in six shutout innings and allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters. The 23-year-old lefty is quietly putting together a fantastic year, currently carrying a 2.36 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 88 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched across 15 starts. Advertisement The former eighth round pick holds a career ERA of 2.30 in 41 minor league appearances dating back to 2023. JJ Wetherholt impresses in first week with Triple-A Memphis: Wetherholt, the team's top prospect, was promoted to Triple-A on July 7 and has already been making waves at the next level. In three games, the 22-year-old has hit a double, triple and home run, scored four times, driven in two and walked once. He's slashing .364/.417/.909/1.326 in his first 11 Triple-A at bats. After finishing the week with Memphis, Wetherholt suited up for the MLB All-Star Futures Game and led off the bottom of the first with a double. Advertisement Related: Cardinals Round Out First Day of Draft with Power Pitcher, Two Lefty Bats Related: Cardinals Select Liam Doyle With Fifth Overall Pick in MLB Draft This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
MLB Futures Game: Five young stars who could soon make impact at big league level
ATLANTA – It can be a dizzying climb: Star amateur player to draft day to prospect list and, just like that, the major leagues. For the dozens of participants in Major League Baseball's Futures Game, a weekend spent immersed with fellow elite prospects can offer a moment's perspective on how far they've come. Yet for those who have climbed to Class AA or AAA, who have reached the 'just a phone call away' of the developmental program, it brings the whirlwind right back – and the promise of what may be around the corner. 'I'm surrounded by and playing with the best minor league players in every organization right now,' Toronto Blue Jays Class AAA right-hander Trey Yesavage tells USA TODAY Sports on July 12. 'It goes to show I'm just as close as every one of these guys and it's great to be here.' With the second half looming and both pennant races and the trade deadline tempting teams to scuttle best-laid plans and bring the minors' best to the big leagues, USA TODAY Sports checks in with four rising stars on the doorstep to the big leagues: JJ Wetherholt, infielder, St. Louis Cardinals: A speedy rise It's been just a year since Wetherholt donned a Western fit and shook commissioner Rob Manfred's hand as the seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft, and just a week since he got promoted from Class AA Springfield to AAA Memphis. Yet there are multiple forces that make Wetherholt an intriguing candidate for a St. Louis summons: He's tearing up the minor leagues, is unstoppable on the basepaths – and the Cardinals have defied all expectations of what 2025 would look like by hanging in the playoff race. While Wetherholt is a shortstop by trade and the Cardinals have Masyn Winn entrenched there, he could easily slide to second or third base. And, above all, his speed brings an element any contender could use. While Wetherholt has just 16 steals in his 94-game pro career, he's only been caught twice, an elite 88.9% success rate. That's even better than his college exploits at West Virginia University, where he stole 57 bags in 73 tries. 'Really, it just comes down to trusting my legs,' says Wetherholt. 'It's going to come down to the pitcher's time and the catcher's time. If I see the catcher's pop time and the pitcher's time (delivering to home) is something that makes me realize I can get a good jump and steal, I'm all over it. I'm going to trust it. 'If I play the calculations right, I should be safe every time.' He's in the right organization, from a heritage standpoint. The Cardinals have long thrived on speed, from current center fielder Victor Scott all the way back to their go-go teams from the 1980s, many of whom have befriended Wetherholt. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith has struck up a particular friendship. 'They keep you humble, because you got to see what they do and you see how humble they are, it's just ridiculous,' says Wetherholt. 'Ozzie Smith is the nicest dude ever. He was so excited to meet me and I was like, 'Dude, I'm shaking right now.' It's awesome.' Wetherholt may not follow directly in Ozzie's footsteps and to that point, he's willing to embrace the versatility that's both a hallmark of the current Cardinals roster and an increasing necessity in today's game. Whatever gets him from Memphis to St. Louis. 'Obviously, my focus has been the middle of the infield. That's where they see me long term,' he says. 'For me, I'm a competitor. A lot of people talk about my bat and I hope that excels. Defensively, I'm going to work my butt off to be good wherever that may be. 'But I'm definitely open to anything.' Harry Ford, catcher, Seattle Mariners: Third time's the charm? At least Harry Ford has home-field advantage this time. The Futures Game is typically both rite of passage and waystation, but Ford is playing in the midsummer mini-classic for a third time, for a couple of reasons. First, he was a very precocious prospect once the Mariners drafted him 12th overall in 2021. And now, he's blocked from a big league job by perhaps the greatest story in baseball this year: Cal Raleigh. Yet Ford, 22, is staying sanguine about it. Born in Atlanta, he attended high school at North Cobb, about 20 miles from Truist Park. He secured 22 Futures Game tickets for friends and family. His big league time will come, the clock ticking only a bit faster when the Mariners summoned him to Texas last month for a night on the taxi squad, in case backup Mitch Garver couldn't go. The debut wasn't to be, and with Raleigh slugging an otherworldly 38 home runs before the All-Star break, a full-time job isn't in the offing. But Ford is strafing Class AAA pitching. His time is coming, even if it requires a trade from Seattle if they see a greater need to fill to maintain their positioning, one-half game out of a playoff spot. 'I try my best to stay where I'm at,' says Ford. 'You know, something that I lean on the most is a proverb, and it says the king's heart is in the hand of Lord, he guides it like a stream of water. He guides it wherever he pleases. 'And so I'm just like, you know what? My career in God's hands and I just let it let it be where he decides it to go.' Right now, it's running roughshod over the Pacific Coast League. Ford is slashing .292/.409/.446 at Tacoma, his .854 OPS 109 points better than his Class AA mark. Ford is doing just fine. 'I'm only 22. I've got a lot of time to grow. Just continue to grow, continue to get wisdom,' he says. 'I mean, it's not too many 22-year-olds at AAA. So sometimes, it's nice to take a step back and see that. Proud of what I've been so far.' Carson Whisenhunt, left-hander, San Francisco Giants: Bustin' loose The biggest jolt from baseball's first half was felt all the way in Sacramento, a couple hours east from where Rafael Devers touched down as a San Francisco Giant in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox. Headed east in that deal: Kyle Harrison, a valued young lefty who'd flashed potential in bouncing from Class AAA and the Giants. And suddenly, Carson Whisenhunt found him a little closer to the front of the line. 'We all were kind of stunned on that one,' says Whisenhunt, a second-round pick in 2022 out of East Carolina. 'Nobody really knew what to expect once that happened, but everything happens for a reason and we got Devers out of it. And hopefully he helps the team up there and we go from there.' It might not be long before Whisenhunt's that guy helping the big club. He impressed in big league spring training and, for now, is sporting a 4.50 ERA – a quality start, essentially – at Sacramento while hoping to follow the example of two of his close friends. Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong have graduated to San Francisco, mainstays in the Giants rotation and, in Roupp's case, an indispensable cog with a 3.39 ERA in 18 starts. Birdsong has not met as much success, but has very high-end stuff. Whisenhunt has been taking notes, learning and listening. 'It's a great path to follow,' says Whisenhunt. 'They're both throwing really well. Roupp's had a great year. Birdy's struggled a little bit but he has great stuff; nobody's worried about what he can do on the field. 'I'm close with Birdy and Roupp. I pick their brains on what's going on, what's working and not working, take little bits and pieces of it and apply to myself.' That usually starts with featuring his changeup, a beguiling offering that lands in the low 80s and plays nicely off a fastball that touches the mid-90s. Above all Whisenhunt is developing a better feel for his pitches, a development he credits to changes made by new club president Buster Posey loosening the reins just a bit on the young starters. 'It's definitely different this year, especially with Posey overtaking everything,' says Whisenhunt. 'Last year we were on a restriction of how many innings, how many pitches per outing. This year, there's still a limit, but the limit is a lot higher. 'It's trying to get us extended – the guys that do get called up ready to compete once their name's called.' That time draws increasingly nearer for Whisenhunt. Trey Yesavage, right-hander, Toronto Blue Jays: Full-time gig It's not that Trey Yesavage did not take his academic pursuits seriously at East Carolina University. It's just that, one year since Toronto plucked him out of Greenville with the 20th overall pick a year ago, he's feeling a nice boost when his first and only job is baseball. 'I've definitely gotten stronger, I'll tell you that,' says Yesavage. 'I've built a good foundation and my body's feeling amazing because of it.' He's getting a pretty good workout from the figurative steps he's climbing: Seven starts at Class A Dunedin, four more at high-A Vancouver and now five more at AA New Hampshire. Yesavage dominated the younger competition in Florida, striking out 55 in just three innings, and posted a WHIP of less than 1 in both of his A ball outposts. The going has gotten more challenging at Class AA – he has 23 strikeouts and 11 walks in 17 innings over five starts – but the growth is real. 'I can say that I've become more of a pitchability guy, throwing pitches in any count I want, and it's been a big help for my career,' says Yesavage. 'Not having distractions but being able to focus on one task and hone in on that.' Yesavage's employers have been the hottest team in the AL East for more than a month, and lead the division by 2 ½ games. Yesavage's steps would have to become leaps to earn a summons for the playoff push, but he's methodically passed every other hurdle so far. 'You're obviously going to have that main goal of making it to the big leagues and having a long career there. You also have to remember the milestones along the way, what's going to help you get there,' he says. 'If you're worried about two months in advance, the game in front of you is not going to go good and that's going to set you back from your main goal.' Brody Hopkins, right-hander, Tampa Bay Rays: A new home For many of the Futures Games participants, it was easy to get star-struck by members of their coaching staff, a Braves-centric group featuring Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff, among others. For Brody Hopkins, it was a little startling to see the company he can now call peers. 'I would say it feels a little more real, and I would say coming here makes it feel even more realer, if that's a word,' says Hopkins, a Tampa Bay Rays right-hander. 'Being here, looking around, it's crazy. I couldn't have told you two years ago that this was where I'd be. I'm just trying to soak it all in, take as many pictures as I can, talk to as many people as I can. 'You only get this moment once.' This is just Hopkins' second season as a full-time pitcher, as he dabbled in the outfield both at Winthrop and in the Seattle and Tampa Bay organizations. But his career took a turn when he was a key piece of the trade that sent All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena from Tampa Bay to Seattle, one year after the Mariners selected him in the sixth round. 'They just instill confidence in me, tell me to be an athlete and let my athleticism take over,' says Hopkins of Tampa Bay. 'Kind of just tell me to trust my stuff, throw everything down the middle, make it presentable and let my (pitch) shapes do what they do. 'I was traded early, but I feel like the Rays are my home.' They're doing pretty well so far. Hopkins has struck out 98 in 80 innings at Class AA Montgomery, his 3.35 ERA not much worse than the 3.05 mark he posted at two A ball stops in 2024. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and he possesses a slider that's a wipeout offering to right-handers. Hopkins still profiles as a starter, but that two-pitch arsenal alone could make him an attractive option for an earlier trip to Tampa Bay, with the Rays once again in playoff position. 'I'm not going to say I'm going to get there tomorrow,' says Thorpe. 'I'm not going to say I'll be there in two years. 'But it could be somewhere in between there and when that day happens, it's going to be pretty exciting.'
Newsweek
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Cardinals Top Prospect One Step Away From MLB, JJ Wetherholt Headed For Triple-A Memphis
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The St. Louis Cardinals used the seventh overall selection in last year's Major League Baseball Draft to select West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt. On Monday, the Cardinals told Wetherholt that he would be joining the Memphis Redbirds, their Triple-A affiliate. Wetherholt hit .300 in Double-A Springfield this season and spent last year in A-ball with the Palm Beach Cardinals. FORT WORTH, TX - JULY 14: JJ Wetherholt looks on after being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals with the seventh pick of the first round during the 2024 MLB Draft presented by Nike at... FORT WORTH, TX - JULY 14: JJ Wetherholt looks on after being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals with the seventh pick of the first round during the 2024 MLB Draft presented by Nike at Cowtown Coliseum on Sunday, July 14, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. More Photo byWetherholt will be participating in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Saturday. A week following the announcement that Wetherholt would be headed for the Futures Game, the Cardinals opted to assign their top prospect to Triple-A, putting him just one promotion away from fulfilling a lifelong dream. With Masyn Winn looking to be the Cardinals' long-term shortstop, Wetherholt will likely shift positions upon arrival, and the Cardinals likely will not make the call this season unless Nolan Arenado is traded at the deadline. With Arenado still around, the Cardinals have limited spots for their surplus of infielders. Wetherholt is the highest overall prospect the Cardinals have had since Jordan Walker was ranked No. 4 in 2023, and Wetherholt was the Cardinals' highest draft selection since selecting J.D. Drew in 1998. Wetherholt was in the running to be the first overall pick at the start of last year's NCAA season before falling to seven for the Cardinals to snag him. There is a ton of hype surrounding Wetherholt, and Cardinals' fans hope that he is the next superstar to don the "birds on the bat" when he arrives in St. Louis. More MLB: Mets Reportedly Contacted Pirates About $77 Million Starter Amid Rumors
Newsweek
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Cardinals Top Draft Choice Last Year Headed To MLB All-Star Futures Game
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The St. Louis Cardinals spent the seventh overall selection in last year's draft on West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt, a player who was thought to be in contention for the first overall selection at the beginning of last year's collegiate season. Now he is headed to Atlanta for the MLB All-Star Futures Game. FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JULY 14: Major League Baseball commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. congratulates JJ Wetherholt, selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the the 2024 MLB Draft at Cowtown... FORT WORTH, TEXAS - JULY 14: Major League Baseball commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. congratulates JJ Wetherholt, selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the the 2024 MLB Draft at Cowtown Coliseum on July 14, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. More Photo byWetherholt has spent this season with Double-A Springfield and, entering Monday, has a slash line of .305/.430/.453. Wetherholt has torn up the Texas League this year and has earned the opportunity to showcase his talent in front of a national audience during All-Star Weekend. Wetherholt is the Cardinals' No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has an ETA of next season, but with the current logjam in the middle infield for the Cardinals, his arrival could be delayed. This is also the ninth straight season that the Double-A affiliate of the Cardinals will be sending a player to the Futures Game. Two of the other 11 selections remain in the Cardinals' top-30 prospects, and one of the selections, Masyn Winn, is putting together a case to win the Gold Glove at shortstop in the National League. Winn broke onto the scene during his Futures Game with his rocket right arm firing 100 mph across the diamond from shortstop. Wetherholt has the same chance to make a statement and let the rest of the league know he is coming. Wetherholt's future position with the Cardinals is up in the air with Winn solidifying his job as the big league shortstop, but the Cardinals' top prospect is making waves and is on his way to the majors. More MLB: Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Gives Encouraging Update On Slugging Outfielder
Dominion Post
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
J.J. Wetherholt selected for All-Star Futures Game
MORGANTOWN — J.J. Wetherholt has a date for this season's All-Star weekend. The former WVU baseball standout was named Monday to the National League roster for next month's MLB All-Star Futures Game. Currently the No. 1-ranked prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals, Wetherholt is batting .305 with five home runs, 27 RBIs and 13 stolen bases at Class AA Springfield this season. He leads Springfield with 61 hits and 41 walks. The Futures Game is scheduled for 4 p.m. on July 12 in Atlanta, and will be televised by the MLB Network. The game will be seven innings and the National League will be coached by former Atlanta Braves stars Chipper Jones and Marquis Grissom. Since being drafted No. 7 overall by the Cardinals last summer, Wetherholt has rocketed up the prospect rankings in Minor League Baseball. He is ranked the No. 16 overall prospect overall, making him the third highest-ranked prospect playing in the Futures Game this season behind San Diego's Leo De Vries (No. 3 overall) and Philadelphia's Andrew Painter (No. 5). In 86 career minor league games over two summers, Wetherholt has combined to hit .302 with seven home runs and 47 RBIs. An All-American at WVU, Wetherholt took college baseball by storm his sophomore season, in which he led the nation in hitting with a .449 batting average, while also hitting 16 home runs and driving in 60. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Year after that season. Injuries limited his senior season to just 36 games, but he still batted .331 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs to lead the Mountaineers to their first-ever appearance in the super regionals of the NCAA tournament. Following his junior season, Wetherholt became WVU's first-ever top 10 draft pick into professional baseball. The Futures Game will feature 50 of the top minor-league prospects. The National League is 3-1-1 since the format was changed to National League vs. American League prospects in 2019. The NL won last year's contest 6-1, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
