When will Top Prospect JJ Wetherholt get the Call-Up?
The St. Louis Cardinals have made it clear: 2025 isn’t their year. With trades and injuries stacking up, the front office has turned its eyes toward the offseason and beyond. But before the winter moves start rolling, fans could get a glimpse of the future right now. That future wears No. 7 pick JJ Wetherholt’s name across the back. So is September the perfect time to call-up their top prospect?
Cardinals’ top prospect JJ Wetherholt is tearing through Triple-A pitching, and the chatter is growing louder: September could be his big-league debut. FanSided’s Zachary Rotman even predicted the call-up, and it’s not hard to see why. In 27 games with Triple-A Memphis, Wetherholt has put up a blistering .295/.387/.638 slash line with nine home runs. He’s outpacing his power numbers from Double-A in far fewer games. His bat looks more than ready for Busch Stadium.
Where Does He Play?
The only real question? Where do you play him. With both Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado on the injured list, second and third base are wide open. That means the Cardinals don’t have to force anything — Wetherholt could slide right in and make an immediate impact. And let’s be honest, his presence would provide a clear offensive spark over guys like Thomas Saggese or even the streaky Nolan Gorman.
Calling him up in September makes perfect sense, especially in a “lost” season. Why not let the kid get his feet wet now, rather than waiting until Opening Day 2026? The Cardinals have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Wetherholt already looks like an everyday infielder, both with the bat and the glove, and letting him taste big-league pitching in September could set him up for success when the games start to matter again.
Here is Wetherholt hitting his 9th home run with the Memphis Redbirds:
But then again, the Cardinals could’ve called him up last week, given him almost full time duties and still kept his at-bats low enough to qualify him for rookie of the year in 2026. There was an open spot at third base where he feels he can play albeit he’s not played third as a pro until just recently.
The Cardinals may be shifting gears toward the future, but if JJ Wetherholt steps into Busch this fall, fans will get more than just a silver lining — they’ll get a preview of a player who could define the next era of Cardinals baseball. Or not, and we all wait until 2026 and try to forget 2025 ever happened.
