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Cardinals prospects that made the Baseball Prospectus' Midseason 50
14. JJ Wetherholt, SS/2B, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: Our draft review isn’t coming out until later in the week, but suffice to say that we view getting Wetherholt—who we considered one of the clear three best players in the draft—at the seventh pick as a coup for the Cardinals. When healthy, Wetherholt picked up right where he left off his D1 batting title campaign, mashing all-fields contact at optimal angles, and continuing his excellent swing decisions. Although he lacks tons of high-end raw pop, Wetherholt hits the ball consistently close to his top range despite a lack of effort in his cut, projecting for at least average power at the next level. He employs a smooth, rhythmic hand load with a short, steep bat angle that keeps his launch distributions in a tight cone. He went left on the defensive spectrum this year, establishing himself as a viable shortstop with average defensive projection, although with Masyn Winn at short in St. Louis he’s probably ultimately headed back to second base.
Why He Might Fail: He’s suffered several hamstring injuries in the last calendar year; he missed a chunk of time in the 2024 college season and did not look fully recovered for several weeks after resuming play. The all-fields approach thing pops back up here; while his overall swing- and contact-level data is remarkably similar to Bazzana, he’s not going to pop as many homers with the present skill set because he doesn’t pull the ball in the air nearly as much.
43. Tink Hence, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: Hence has taken another step forward in 2024, emphasizing his plus slider to back his mid-90s fastball, leading to more strikeouts and fewer bombs back in the hitter’s haven of Springfield. The slide piece has been a real weapon, just disappearing under hitter’s bats, and he has a more than usable change and curve as well.
Why He Might Fail: Hence has had issues staying on the mound for a full season. He’s only at 54 innings on the season and hasn’t pitched in a Double-A game in nearly a month. Yep, he’s a pitcher.
46. Quinn Mathews, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals
Why He’ll Succeed: The 2023 fourth-rounder unexpectedly had a huge velocity jump this spring, jumping 3-4 ticks into the mid-90s, and he’s sustained it across the season to date; like Jobe and Chandler it’s coming from a low VAA with plus carry. He was already a changeup artist, and the extra oomph has also registered with a tight gyro slider playing as a very viable third offering. He’s struck out 120 batters in 85 innings and it is not an accident at all.
Why He Might Fail: This velocity is completely new to him and sometimes that doesn’t hold over the course of a career; reversing this glow up would turn him back into a change and command type. And this is the biggest “also, he’s a pitcher” on this list: he was used extremely heavily at Stanford, including a 156-pitch outing that caused a huge national debate on college pitcher usage.
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