Cardinals Top Prospect One Step Away From MLB, JJ Wetherholt Headed For Triple-A Memphis
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
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dodgers can't overcome Yoshinobu Yamamoto's horrific first inning, fall to Brewers
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks on during a brutal first inning against the Brewers Monday in Milwaukee. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press) Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one pitch away from a clean first inning Monday night. Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare. In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Poor defense and bad batted-ball luck didn't help in what became a 41-pitch collapse. Advertisement By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip. Read more: How Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'elevated his game to another level' in his second year The trouble started quickly beneath an open retractable roof on a mild summer night in Wisconsin. Sal Frelick hammered a hanging curveball for a leadoff double. Willson Contreras drew a walk when Yamamoto couldn't locate his splitter near the zone. And the two outs that followed — a fly ball from Jackson Chourio and grounder from Christian Yelich — proved to be only a temporary reprieve. Advertisement In the next at-bat, newly acquired Brewers slugger Andrew Vaughn came to the plate in his first game with the team. He got three straight sliders from Yamamoto to start, fanning on the first before laying off two that missed the zone next. Then, after a called strike on a fastball at the knees evened the count 2-and-2, catcher Will Smith dialed up another curveball from Yamamoto again. It was supposed to be down and on the outside corner. Instead, it fluttered up and above the zone. Vaughn connected with a mighty upper-cut swing. The ball soared beyond the left-field wall, making it 3-0 Brewers just like that. Somehow, the inning would only get worse from there. Read more: 'Really impressed.' Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way role going (mostly) well a month in Advertisement Despite entering the night coming off a first-career All-Star selection, and leading the majors in road ERA at 1.57, Yamamoto failed to settle down. In a 1-and-2 count against Isaac Collins, he left a fastball down the middle that was hammered for a single. After falling behind 3-and-0 to Brice Turang, Yamamoto worked the count full only to miss badly with a fastball and issue an inning-extending walk. With his pitch count climbing at that point, Roberts began to stir the bullpen. Yamamoto appeared to finally find an escape route against Caleb Durbin, inducing a grounder with a splitter that was hit straight to shortstop Mookie Betts. But, in a rare defensive lapse at his new position, Betts spiked a throw to first that Freddie Freeman couldn't corral. Collins came racing around from second to score. The inning stayed alive when it once again should've ended. Advertisement Read more: Clayton Kershaw grateful for 'weird but cool' All-Star selection as 'Legend Pick' Yamamoto's leash finally ran out on pitch 41, when Andruw Monasterio lobbed a bloop RBI single down the right-field line in the next at-bat. As another run scored, Roberts came walking out of the bullpen to give the team's season-long ace an unimaginably early hook. The two teams played the final eight innings. But the result already seemed well in hand. The Dodgers' lineup was shorthanded, missing Teoscar Hernández with a bruised foot and Tommy Edman with a pinky toe fracture (both are expected back in the lineup by Wednesday). Before the game, Kiké Hernández was also put on the injured list with an elbow injury that had been bothering him since he made an awkward slide in Cleveland in late May, and flared up to the point of requiring a cortisone shot this past weekend. Not to be forgotten, Max Muncy also remains sidelined by his bum knee. Advertisement In their places, the Dodgers started James Outman in center field (who was called up from triple A pregame), Miguel Rojas at third base and Hyeseong Kim at second against Brewers All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta. The outcome was predictable: Six innings of shutout ball in which the Dodgers managed only five hits, one walk and struck out seven times. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Peralta pitches 6 shutout innings and Brewers chase Yamamoto early in 9-1 rout of Dodgers
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Andrew Vaughn hit a three-run homer in his first plate appearance with his new team, Freddy Peralta threw six shutout innings and the Milwaukee Brewers trounced the Los Angeles Dodgers 9-1 on Monday night. Peralta (10-4) struck out seven while allowing five hits and one walk, lowering his ERA to 2.74. Christian Yelich added a two-run homer for Milwaukee. Los Angeles starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8-7) got just two outs before leaving the shortest start of his career as the Dodgers lost their fourth straight. His quick exit spoiled a starting pitching matchup featuring two NL All-Stars in Peralta and Yamamoto. With two outs in the first inning, Yamamoto allowed a 409-foot shot to Vaughn, who got called up from the minors earlier in the day as the Brewers put first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the injured list. The Brewers acquired Vaughn from the Chicago White Sox last month. Vaughn became the fifth player in franchise history — and first since Gabe Gross in 2006 — to homer in his first plate appearance with the team. The Brewers added two unearned runs later in the inning. Milwaukee extended its lead to 7-0 in the fifth on Brice Turang's two-out, two-run single off Will Klein. The Brewers made it 9-0 when Yelich homered off Julian Fernández in the seventh. The Dodgers got their run on Esteury Ruiz's two-out RBI single in the eighth. Key moment The Dodgers already trailed 3-0 with two outs in the first when shortstop Mookie Betts fielded a routine grounder from Caleb Durbin and bounced a throw to first baseman Freddie Freeman, who was unable to scoop it. Betts' error enabled Isaac Collins to score from second. The Brewers added a fifth run on Andruw Monasterio's RBI single that knocked Yamamoto out of the game. Key stat The Dodgers have lost their last four games by a combined score of 38-7. That follows a 15-3 stretch. Up next Clayton Kershaw (4-0, 3.43 ERA) makes his first appearance for the Dodgers since joining the 3,000-strikeout club, and rookie Jacob Misiorowski (3-1, 3.20) pitches for the Brewers as the series continues Tuesday. ___ AP MLB:
Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Diamondbacks All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte scratched with groin tightness
SAN DIEGO — All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks was scratched from the starting lineup Monday night against the San Diego Padres due to right groin tightness. The Diamondbacks said he was given the day off for recovery and is day-to-day. Marte was voted by fans as the starting second baseman for the National League All-Star team. He is hitting .293 with 19 homers and 40 RBIs. Blaze Alexander started at second and batted ninth against Padres starter Yu Darvish, who made his season debut. Geraldo Perdomo moved up one spot to second in the order. ___ AP MLB:
