Thursday, February 27

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- Even more analytical than he is detailed, Cardinals rookie infielder JJ Wetherholt not only journals each day of his baseball life, but he does it with such precision that he can look back at each entry and learn from them weeks later.

No part of his day is left out of the journal, from how he slept the night before to also including details about every ounce of coffee and energy drink that he consumes throughout the day. Possessing a hunger to improve daily and not make the same mistakes twice, Wetherholt wants to learn from his habits and hopefully continue to evolve as a player and person.

“I’ve always been a guy who [analyzed the game] a little bit more in high school, and then in college I learned to use that to my advantage,” said the Cardinals top-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline. “Early in my career, there was some [overanalyzing] that wasn’t super beneficial. As I got to college, I learned how to process it, deal with it, learn from it, and then put it away.

“Most times after games, I’ll do a daily journal before I go to bed and write down what I liked about the day, how I felt, what I ate, how much caffeine I drank, how I slept and all these things that you can learn from and make some conclusions on. Then, you can put it to rest. I write about it in that journal and then once I close it, I can go to sleep, and hopefully I can leave it there. Whether it’s a good day or a bad day, we play so many games that hopefully I can turn it over and move on.”

That sort of maturity and attention to detail -- to go along with an impressive bat and some positional versatility -- are why the Cardinals selected Wetherholt with the No. 7 pick in last July’s MLB Draft. Had he not suffered a series of hamstring injuries during his junior season at West Virginia, the 2023 NCAA batting champion (.449) and former Big 12 Conference Player of the Year likely would have been a top-three Draft pick long before the Cards selected.

The Cardinals saw enough of what they liked from Wetherholt last summer and fall following the Draft in Single-A play to invite the 22-year-old to Spring Training. Already, the second baseman/shortstop has impressed -- both with his opposite-field, three-run home run in his debut and his studious, serious-minded approach away from the diamond.

“I like those guys where it’s just everything is baseball, and they love the game and love studying it,” gushed Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, who had Wetherholt in Tuesday’s lineup against the Blue Jays as a designated hitter. “He seems to fit into that [mold] where he’s going to make fast adjustments. He’s not going to go home and not think about what just happened. He’s going to come back [tomorrow] as a better version of himself every day.”

Wetherholt got to show off his studious side last week in camp when bench coach Daniel Descalso had him put together a presentation to the team about the exploits of Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, a project he called “one of the coolest things I’ve got to do in my entire life -- give a bio of Ozzie Smith in front of Ozzie Smith.”

Ozzie aside, the player most impressive to Wetherholt in camp thus far has been outfielder Victor Scott II, his former college teammate at West Virginia.

“From strength and running categories, we had leaderboards, and Vic was in his own category,” said Wetherholt, who admitted to leaning on Scott for advice in the days before the start of Spring Training. “I was always trying to get first place in the speed categories, but Vic was always in first place. But it was like he didn’t count because he’s in his own class.”

Another thing that has helped Wetherholt be comfortable on MLB’s big stage is his upbringing around MLB players. In Mars, Pa., he played with the sons of former Pirates Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson, and he was coached by the brother of Pirates closer David Bednar.

“Coming up around those guys just gives you more motivation and it lets you know what’s possible,” he said. “That drove me to always give my best shot.” 

The 20th annual Purina Pooches in the Ballpark game will be held at Busch Stadium on April 12 when the Cardinals host the Phillies.

A limited number of all-inclusive tickets are on sale for the only game this season where dogs can join their owners for a game at Busch Stadium. Tickets will include a pet goodie bag filled with samples, coupons and swag from Purina and Schnucks. Ticket holders will also be treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet with complimentary beer, soda, and water.

All four-legged friends and their owners will be allowed to take part in a pregame parade around the Busch Stadium warning track. Additionally, 20,000 fans, ages 16 and older, will take home a Cardinals pet toy for their four-legged friends, courtesy of Purina.

Visit cardinals.com/pooches to purchase tickets and learn more about the day’s events and rules. 

Jordan Walker, the top prospect in the Cardinals’ system in 2022 and 2023, is off to a strong start so far this spring after an offseason spent working with new hitting coach Brant Brown.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Walker showed off his progress in Monday’s 7-4 defeat of the Mets when he lined a single back up the middle and a double to left field. In both instances, Walker stayed on pitches on the outer half of the plate, something that allows the path of his bat to remain in the strike zone longer. His single was scorched back up the middle at 104.9 mph and on the double he stayed on a cutter that he might have pulled off in the past.

“The main thing that [Brown] has talked to me about is on that inside pitch, don’t panic on it and pull out early,” said Walker, whose first two MLB seasons have included struggles that led to him being demoted to Triple-A Memphis. “They want me to stay in there more and see how late I can catch [the ball]. I want to think center field – even if I am late. That’s how I can get my [bat] path a little better. So they’ve taught me a good approach.”

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