St. Louis Cardinals’ Top Prospect JJ Wetherholt POISED for 2026 BREAKOUT | Brendan Donovan Trade?

St. Louis Cardinals’ Top Prospect JJ Wetherholt POISED for 2026 BREAKOUT | Brendan Donovan Trade?

The JJ Weatherhold hype train is now officially boarding. Please have your tickets ready. Plus, what other prospects made really good impressions this past year that has fans excited for 2026. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hey there Cardinals fans. I’m JD Hafern, a former national radio sports anchor born and raised in St. Louis. A lifetime Cardinals fan. I’m your host for Lock Cardinals, part of the Lock Podcast Network, covering your team every day. Thank you to our everydayers for being here with us throughout the season and now into the off season. And for those of you who are new to the program, welcome in. We hope you enjoy the content. This is a show that serves Cardinal Nation and gives you all the info about the birds on the bat. Today’s episode brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So, download the app today. Today’s episode, I’ve got another trade rumor that came across my desk that I I wanted to lay out for you involving another fan favorite. Uh, we need to talk about St. Louis’s very own Max Scherzer and how he shined in the ALCS for Toronto and his appearance. show Otani as maybe the greatest MLB game of all time ever. But we’re gonna start with uh a piece that was done by John Denton. He covers the Cardinals for MLB.com. If you’re unfamiliar with him, make sure you give him a follow on his socials. Uh I’m going to link the story in the description down below and in the show notes for our audio only listeners. Um, I know that as much as we like some of the players on the current roster, there are some guys that we like, there are some fan favorites on there and some guys with some bright futures uh already with the team, guys like Mason W. But what really gets my juices going and gets me excited is the guys that are coming in 2026 and beyond. The future of this organization has it it’s bright there. There is some light at the end of this tunnel. And I know it’s not easy to see it sometimes, but that’s what I’m here for. I’m here to open things up a little bit so you can get get a clear vision of what is coming down the pipeline for the Cardinals. The future of this team is bright. Um there’s a reason why Fan Graphs has them rated as the top farm system in Major League Baseball. And as much as it sucks as a fan that you know the the team hasn’t won as much at the big league level that you know that we want them to over the last few years doing what they’ve been doing and losing sadly uh has put them in a position to to draft much higher in the draft than they’re used to which has you know given them opportunities to draft much better players. are going to have another shot at a lottery pick in the upcoming draft as well where they have just a 2.35% chance at the number one overall pick. But yet, they’re there. Uh the last two drafts have netted two highly regarded prospects. Infielder JJ Weatherhold, who was taken number seven overall back in 2024, and pitcher Liam Doyle, who just got taken number five overall in 2025. And the team has made some trades to acquire more talent at the trade deadline this past season which brought in names like Jesus Bayz, Nate Dome, Bla1 Jordan. Uh Heim Blum has said repeatedly that he’s very pleased with the progress that the organization has made in player development. But the goal is to be the trend setter, right? The trend center, which is what led to a lot of the team success over the past 25 years, was that they were ahead of the game. They were doing things and other organizations were trying to copy them and things have switched over the last couple of years and they’re trying to get back to that. And I’m fully on board with this game plan. Uh we’ve had to suffer the last couple seasons because they they fell behind so much that the talent in the system slipped to a point where they didn’t have any depth to help the big league club anymore. Hence the ugly three seasons that that we’ve seen. And there’s no guarantees that 2026 is going to be all that much better. But there is hope. There is light again at the end of this tunnel. And it’s going to start with JJ Weatherhole. He’s the guy. He’s the key in this whole thing right now. He’s the guy that we’re pinning our hopes and dreams on. No pressure JJ in uh Denton’s story. He’s got a quote from Hein Bloom talking about JJ who said that, you know, JJ is very impressive and he’s got a chance to be really good. We’re looking forward to seeing what he does in spring training camp. Um, or I should say just camp, but we’re talking about spring training because he’s in a position where he can come in and make a really strong impression and start his big league career sooner rather than later. We’ll see how that shakes out. But he’s a really impressive player and he’s a really impressive, poised player. Now, the real question for JJ, at least in my opinion, is where is he going to play on the big league club? We’ve we’ve talked about this before. It seems as though the the most likely spot is going to be at second base with some opportunities to play some third base as well. I’m sure he’s he’ll log some innings at shortstop if Mason Win needs some uh needs some rest, but he doesn’t have to. You know, you’ve got Thomas and JC for that. Uh at the moment, the Cardinals still have Nolan Aronado, Britain Donovan, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas JC in those spots as well. Uh it’s something to keep in mind because we assume at least one of that group is going to get traded. Aronado was the most likely player to get shipped for obvious reasons. We’ve talked about it a ton. I don’t really have to go into that, I don’t think. But I I don’t think you can count out a deal that includes Brendan Donovan or Nolan Gorman either. It’s clear to me that room will have to that some room will have to be made. Okay? They’re going to have to make some space there to get JJ on the squad at some point because you’re not just going to continue to hold him back and not let him help you at the major league level. And I for one am super excited to see what he can do when he does get to St. Louis. Uh I I know we’ve been burned or at least are feeling the burn still with what’s going on with Jordan Walker and how he has been panning out thus far. I’m not giving up on him though yet. I know a lot of people want to. I’m not there yet at all. He was just a top five guy a couple of years ago in 2023. He was a top five prospect in all of baseball just two years ago. I mean, you you’re not quitting on that yet, are you? I’m not. I’m not. And I look at the list of guys surrounding him back in 2023. You had Gunnar Henderson, number one at the time. Was great in 2024. He had a down year in 25. Corbin Carroll’s a freaking stud. He was number two. Francisco Alvarez was number three. He’s been good when he’s been on the field, but has uh had a lot of injuries which have derailed things for him. Uh Anthony Vulpi with the Yankees, number five. Hasn’t lived up to the hype. He’s got an OPS plus under 90 in all three seasons and he’s been uh uh you know he’s got the defensive issues that that they’re well documented. You know, if you’ve ever if you know any Yankees fans, you’ve heard them talk about Anthony Vulpi, you bring up that name and they’re like like it happens. So I I’m not giving up on Jordan Walker yet. And I say this because there’s no guarantees on any of these guys, but to me JJ feels a little bit different to me. I I just it’s something about him. Just the way he carries himself. There’s a confidence there. He’s got this work ethic that people talk about which, you know, is second to none. Um, also the way since he’s been into this organization, how about the ways that his teams always seem to win? Have you noticed that everywhere he goes they they win more and he’s right in the middle of all that. He brings a a winning attitude and a winning aura to whichever team he is on. You know, he was mostly down at Springfield this year, but when he came up to Memphis, they played very well. He was really good and they got better. Um, so I I’m excited about the future. I’m head over heels for what JJ Weatherhole can bring to this team. Uh so I’m excited about 2026 where uh you know John Denton even said in I don’t think it was this article but it was something else where he was like I I believe he’s going to be the starting second baseman for the Cardinals on opening day and I’m I’m cool with that. Like he just feels more prepared. When Jordan Walker got brought up it didn’t seem like he was ready. It it felt rushed. it didn’t seem like they needed to do it and yet they did it and we’ve kind of seen the consequences of that action. So, uh, but JJ feels like he’s ready. Obviously, he’s more mature. He’s an older guy. He’s went went through college already. So, um, he’s better prepared for for what Major League Baseball is compared to where Jordan Walker was. And that’s no slide on Jordan Walker. He was just a kid though. So, uh, you know, I hope he can turn it around obviously. But, uh, I’m really excited. If you can’t tell about JJ Weatherhold’s future, but JJ wasn’t the only one who turned heads this year. Uh, we’re going to give you some other names. Those are coming your way next on Lockdown Cardinals. This episode is brought to you by Price Picks. Every day we make decisions, but on Prize Picks, being right can actually get you paid, which is nice. Don’t miss the excitement of the football season with Price Picks, where it’s good to be right. playing price picks. It’s a very fun and simple way to add more excitement to your football experience of just watching the game. You just pick more or less on player projection. So, you can go with Patrick Mahomes and his passing yard. He’s going to have uh Rashid Rice back in action. Uh the Chiefs starting to look more and more like the Chiefs were used to. So, uh that’s obviously something. Maybe uh a running back, Saquon Barkley, Van Robinson. Um, some of these guys, if you think they’re going to rush for a touchdown, boom, put them in your lineup and you’re in the game. It’s very quick. You make your lineup in under a minute, so it’s not going to bog you down with like, oh my gosh, do I need to do this? No, it’s not stressful. It’s fun. Price picks also added stacks. So, if you want to ride with a player, say someone like rookie Jackson Dark from the Dart from the Giants, dual threat QB, you can select his pass yards, rush yards, touchdowns, all in one lineup, which is pretty cool. They also added the new injury reboot feature. We’ve all been burned by early game injuries. It’s happened to all of us. And if your player leaves early and doesn’t return, it’s not going to count against you. So, they’re doing you a solid there. So, download the Prize Pix app today. Use code locked on MLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on MLB for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. Thanks for making Lock on Cardinals your first listen every day. If you enjoy daily Cardinals content, you can follow the podcast on X at LOL_Cardinals. We’re on YouTube, Tik Tok, and Instagram as well at lockdown Cardinals. There were other guys on the farm outside of JJ Weatherhalt who were able to catch the eye of scouts and fans this past season. And some of them you may not have been too familiar with coming into the season. And that’s okay. Uh that’s what we’re here for. We’re here to to to share the stories of some of these young men who at some point hopefully will uh help the St. Louis Cardinals at the big league level. Uh John Denton talked about a couple of these guys in this article. The next one on his list is catching prospects. Right now Rodriguez, we’ve talked about him a bit already this week when we discussed the catching depth. He’s only 18 years old. Is already at number 55 overall in uh the MLB pipeline rankings for the the top 100 in all of baseball. He’s at number 55. uh hit 276, 20 home runs, 22 doubles, and 63 ribbies in 84 games at uh three different spots. He was in the uh Florida uh complex league, the FCL as we call it, single A, and then HA. My expectation is that he’ll be at Springfield to start next season with their other catching prospect, Leonardo Bernal, uh starting at Memphis. That’s my my thoughts. Uh, but we could see Krooks there too if Ivon Herrera pans out behind the plate following elbow surgery and have Herrera and Pahz at the major league level and uh, you know, Krooks might still be at Memphis to start the season. It’s a possibility. Uh, it all kind of depends on how Ivon’s elbow is and whether or not they still think of him as a catcher. Uh, or you could see all three of them on the roster. If Herrera is just going to be a D a DH again, that’s a possibility, too. Uh the next guy he lists is outfielder Joshua Bayz. Now this is a guy that I’m pretty excited about as well. He was a second round pick. Uh has a lot of tools. Had a slower start uh after getting into pro ball. It didn’t just like click right away for him. But last year he took off. He’s only 22 years old. A big physical specimen, 63, 220, but he’s got that blend of speed and power that you just can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. spent 38 games at Peoria, hit 317, only four home runs, but he stole 20 bags. He knocked in 24 after he got his promotion to Springfield. It didn’t slow him down really. His batting average dipped a bit at 274, but the home runs smashed 16 of those. Drove in 55. He stole 34 more bases over 79 games. Again, he’s only 22 years old. And this is like the tip of the iceberg. At least we’re hoping. This is the tip of the iceberg and he continues to progress. Uh I would imagine he would start at Springfield again next year, but obviously you want to get him to Memphis and uh perhaps you you could see him in the major leagues at some point, but again, 22 years old. Uh the last guy that he brings up is pitcher Ean Henderson, who was the Texas League pitcher of the year this season. He’s going to be 24 in January, so not as young as some of these others guys. Um, I I respect his high socks. He goes with the high socks look, which I person my personal favorite of any of the Cardinals. I loved it when Wayne Wright did it. It looked weird when Albert Puhol did it when he came back because he didn’t used to do that, but I respect it because the Cardinal socks freaking rock. They’re they’re some of the best in the business. But Ean Henderson, uh, left-hander. He got drafted out of Fresno State back in 2023. And really all he’s done since he’s come into pro ball is be a really good pitcher and win ball games. In 2024 he was 8 and4 with a 2.34 erra at Palm Beach and Poria. Then this past year he goes 9 and7 with a 2.59 RA over 25 starts. And when we talk about the Cardinals rotation in 2026, we all know there are some question marks here. We’ve got a lot of them to be honest. you, even with Sunny Gray still in the fold and still on this roster, uh, we we’re still kind of like, all right, there’s a couple spots here, you know, I I think a lot of us have lost a bit of faith in Andre Palante after seeing what he did last year and how he just it seemed like he kept getting worse. Uh, again, I I fully expect them to give him another shot at being in this rotation. it wouldn’t shock me whatsoever because that’s just kind of what the Cardinals do. But um there are some openings here. There are chances for other guys to step up and Denton mentions that Henderson could possibly help with that issue next season. Again, talking about a guy who is going to be 24 in January. So, this is not just, you know, this is not a guy who just jumped from high school and now is like 20 21 years old. He’s pretty developed, you know, he’s he’s a man. So, that’s a guy to keep an eye on. Uh, even though he hasn’t pitched at Memphis yet, uh, again, I would expect him to be at Memphis to start and possibly make his way into the major leagues next year. Uh, Denton brought up uh, Bryson Mottz as well, who was a second round pick back in 2022. Excellent at Springfield again this year. Eight and three, 2.98 RA in 25 starts. uh will surely make that jump to AAA Memphis as well, just like um just like Ean Henderson will. Um Memphis, I mean, I’m looking at this and I’m like Memphis might be stacked to start the season. Ean Henderson and then Mottz. Uh Liam Doyle all in that rotation. Yo, if he if he starts, he might start at Springfield, which would be fine with me. Uh Cooper Jerpy is coming back from his surgery, but I could see him at Memphis. Uh, imagine if they had guys that are, you know, injured right now, like a Takcoa Roby or a Sim Robertson. Uh, Teen Kent. Where’s he going? Where does he fit into this stuff? Like, is he ever going to be healthy? Um, speaking of health, there’s also Quinn Matthews to to think about, who was the minor league pitcher of the year last year, not just for the Cardinals, but the entire minor league system by Baseball America. Named him the top minor league pitcher overall. And last year, it just got off to a bad start. It never it never got consistent for Quinn Matthews last year. you know, he he had the shoulder issue to start the season, and there were some games where it looked like he looked like that guy that he was in 2024. Uh, specifically, Denton brings up the month of August, he was excellent, and then things fell apart again in September. I don’t know if it w it was fatigue. I I don’t know. But the year overall had to be a bit of a disappointment for everybody involved for Quinn, for the system. But, uh, Heim Blum has not, you know, lost any faith in what Quinn Matthews can be. Uh, just got to work on these control issues. Hopefully, he stays healthy this off season. healthy to begin the season and you you get off on the right foot instead of starting with an injury which you know it tends to set people back and they never you know spec specifically pitchers they have a tough time recovering and getting back to their normal stuff um when they when they start the season injured and um you know that’s something that happened to Quinn Matthews first time he’s had to deal with anything like that after such an amazing season in 2024 so uh maybe a humbling experience for Quinn Matthews and uh you know hopefully he’ll be ready to rock and uh if he gets the start at Memphis fine but I would love to see him show up spring training and look awesome and claim one of those uh back of the rotation spots. That would be great. Uh so just a a nice crop of pitchers and a couple of them obviously could infiltrate the big league club uh in 2026 at some point and there could be more to come if deals for veterans like Nolan Aronado, Brennan Donovan, and Sunny Gray come to fruition. Uh I saw a trade idea involving Brennan Donovan. And I know nobody wants to trade him. I don’t want to trade him, but they’re popping up because other teams are clearly interested in him. And uh I got one that I want to run past you guys and we’ll do it next here on Locked on Cardinals. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets. If you win, that’s right, you pick a bet, you put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’re going to unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. FanDuel is great. If you haven’t tried it before, you should. Okay? Because it gives you so many different ways to play and have fun. You got parlays, you got player props, you’ve got live lines during the games. You see a trend going on in the game. You want to jump in and take advantage of it, you do it. Uh this weekend, we’ve got Rams and Jaguars early game on Sunday morning in London. Uh Commanders at Cowboys. You got my Packers in Arizona who uh last check, I’m not sure if Kyler Murray is playing yet or not, but uh the Packers are obviously a pretty good team if you want to go with them. Uh, but Patriots at the Titans is the one that I’m looking at because the Titans are terrible. They’re a mess. They fired their coach. The Patriots playing with a lot of confidence right now. I like the Patriots. So, uh, just throwing that out there in case you you you’re curious of what I’m feeling. Uh, whether you’re a casual fan or you just like diving into the stats, FanDuel will make watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fando.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Thanks for making lock on Cardinal your first listen every day for your second listen check out locked on MLB game night every game every night until the World Series champion is crowned get local analysis but on a national scale you can find MLB game night on the locked on MLB YouTube channel or wherever you listen to your podcast Brenda Donovan is an invaluable piece in my opinion to the Cardinals team and clubhouse we love him players love him we aren’t trying to trade someone who at the moment doesn’t make a whole lot of money. Uh is versatile in the field with a he’s already got a gold glove, you know, on his mantle, is arguably the best hitter that the Cardinals have, you know, averaging an OPS plus of 117 in his four years with the club. You can make arguments that it’s Ivon Herrera. Um but, you know, for a guy that’s been able to do the same, you know, consistently over the last few seasons, you know, Brennan Donovan’s been that guy. uh had some injuries this year and obviously that’s taken away from some of his uh stats from 2025, but he was still awesome when you know he was in the lineup. You you loved him. I I preferred him better at the number three spot in the lineup than in the leadoff spot, but when new bar started to falter again, somebody’s gota somebody got to hit lead off. So, um here’s the thing though. Brennan Donovan is going to be 29. He’s quite deserving of an extension. He’s deserving of more money than he made this past year when he was at 2.85 million. He’s expected to get around five and a half next year. I mean, he’s not cashing in, you know, crazy amount of money here, but it’s expected to be about five and a half through arbitration this year. And as much as it as it pains me to do it, if teams are trying to get their hands on him, then the phone lines are open, right? The phone lines are open for anybody. they don’t have to deal him. And if they decide to extend him, I’m totally cool with that. If there is a guy on this roster that that’s a veteran that you want to see extended, Brennan Donovan’s the guy, right? He’s the He’s probably your number one. He can play second, third, first, short stop if you need him to. Corner outfield spots. Like, who wouldn’t want that guy? And he’s an incredible human. He’s an incredible guy in the clubhouse. And people are gonna want that and I get it. The trade I saw that came across was between the Cardinals and the A’s. Uh our old friend Jason Burke, he used to be the host of Locked on A’s. Um now is just a full-time writer uh covering the A’s. Um this is what he had to say about a possible deal. He because he he likes Brennan Donovan and thinks he’d be an excellent fit with the A’s. The first piece that could be attractive to St. Louis and a deal would be right-hander Joey Estus. While his numbers aren’t pretty from this past season, that’s partially because he’s a flyball pitcher that had been aided by pitching at the Oakland Coliseum in 2024 when he held a 5.01 cumulative RA and showed a lot of promise in spurts. It was also his rookie campaign. He held a 3.26 RA in Oakland last year across 66 and a third innings of work. He’s a solid pitcher with a bulldog mentality, but he may be of little use to the A’s in the more hitter friendly Sutter Health Park. St. Louis, on the other hand, is a much more pitcher friendly venue, and he would do well there. Bush Stadium ranks 29th in home run factors ahead of just Pittsburgh, which is an inivision ballpark. The A’s could also look to move JJ Blade, who is a league average bat for his career and may be a change of scenery candidate. The A’s look to move this winter. He said to enter arbitration next season and topped out at 20 home runs in 2024. He also showed a glimpse of his potential last year and it could be unlocked with a new excuse me a new franchise. If we were to look for a third piece to this trade, it could depend on what the Cardinals are after. The A’s could throw in former firstrounder Daniel Sisk catcher that spent the 2025 campaign in AAA Las Vegas. They could also include a pitcher outside of their top prospects. So adding it all up, it would be Brennan Donovan for right-hander. This is just the, you know, what Jason was saying. It would be Brennan Donovan for right-hander Joey Estus, outfielder JJ Bladeet, and catching prospect Daniel Cick. My initial reaction to that is I cannot say that I would be enthusiastic about a deal like that at all. Now Estus as he mentioned horrible numbers at the big league level and they weren’t all that great at the minor league level either this past year. Blade fourth overall pick in 2019 but has never lived up to the billing is going to be 28 this year and at this point in his career it feels like he’s a utility guy. Do I need another one of those? No. And then the last thing the Cardinals need at this point is another catching prospect when they already got a bit of a log jam at the catching position in their system already. Looking at the A’s, I’m not opposed to Estus if there’s more pitching coming because that’s really if I’m Hind Bloom, that’s what I’m targeting. I I don’t need a utility outfielder. I don’t need another catcher at this point. I just need more arms. I need more bites at the apple, the pitching apple. I need a chance to get my hands on more pitching. So, um, I would like somebody like a starter like Jacob Lopez who doesn’t make a lot of, uh, money, left-hander. He had some decent numbers this past year. Would the A’s be willing to move on from him? Unless you’re moving Pedro Pahz, I I I don’t need another another catcher. So, I’d be looking at arms and I’m talking about and he he mentioned not top prospects, but I’m not I’m I’m moving out a firstrounder in Susk. I think it was like number 11 overall in their in their uh MLB pipeline projections of, you know, like the rankings. So, I don’t want him. But how about a guy like Henry Bayz or Eduardo Nunees? young arms that haven’t had to do much at the major league level yet. Uh those are the kind of guys I’m looking for. I’m looking for a nice lottery ticket. I know Nunes was up uh at the major league level this year and I don’t know how people hit him. Like his stuff is nasty. But that’s just me. I I need more pitching. If I’m ever going to move Brennan Donovan, it’s not going to be for what they were just asking for. like you still got a couple of years of control and I need something else, you know? I just do. So, those are my thoughts on on that particular trade. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below and on X as well. Uh, real quick, I want to call out Max Scherzer loved it. Max Sherzer on Thursday night, five and two/3s, two runs, struck out five in their victory, which was his first playoff win in six years. Game one of the 2019 World Series with the Nationals was his last one. Became the fourth starting pitcher to win a postseason game at age 41 or older, joining Roger Clemens, Kenny Rogers, and Dennis Martinez. Averaged 94.2 miles an hour on his fast ball. Tied for the highest average fast velocity in a game this season for him and also generated six swings and misses on the curveball. Regular season did not go well. We know this. He was clearly amped up for this postseason appearance and probably felt pretty fresh. But that was fun to watch the the St. Louis native look more like the Mad Max of old free agent at the end of the season. He made $15.5 million this past year. The Cardinal are not going to give him $15.5 million. At least I don’t think. But I remember hearing that he wanted to sign with St. Lewis uh a few years ago, but they never called or something and he went to the nationals instead. I don’t know if he’s still pissed off about that. I know it’s slim to none as far as chances that he would want to come to St. Louis because I’m sure if he’s going to pitch again next year, he’d want to be with somebody who’s got a chance to go to the postseason right away. But man, he would look good in the Cardinal uniform to end his career. Bring the guy home or at least give him a call. I’m just throwing it out there. And then uh can we also give a shout out to show Otani real quick? Holy crap. Can you believe the game that he just had on Friday night? Not only was he dominant pitching wise, but then he clubs three home runs. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Is he worth the $700 million? It was one game, but that was a fun game to watch, man. Show Itani. Show Otani putting on a show last night for the Dodgers fans. So Dodgers sweep the Milwaukee Brewers. They’re on to the World Series. We find out tonight uh Seattle or Toronto. It’s 3 to2 Seattle after the or it’s not tonight. That game is not tonight, is it? Tomorrow. Tomorrow on Sunday is when that game will take place. But AU Hale Suarez hitting that grand slam. That was huge. Two home runs in the game. Cal Raleigh goes yard again. So 3-2 Seattle series headed back to Toronto. So uh it’s been a it’s been a fun playoffs. Uh the only thing missing St. Louis Cardinals. That would make it even more fun, right? All right. Thanks for making Lockdown Cardinals your first listen every day. If you haven’t already, give us a follow on X at L_Cardinal at JD Sports Radio, Tik Tok, and Instagram at Lockdown Cardinals. Please like and subscribe on YouTube if you haven’t already. It really helps the channel grow and uh gets uh gets more Cardinal fans involved in this thing that we love to call locked on Cardinals. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason and we will see you next time on Locked on Cardinals.

Cardinals’ Future Shines Bright: Top Prospect JJ Wetherholt Takes Center Stage

St. Louis Cardinals fans, get ready for a game-changing prospect analysis. J.J. Wetherholt, the Cards’ 7th overall pick, is making waves and could be the starting second baseman by 2026. Host JD Hafron breaks down Wetherholt’s impressive performance and winning attitude, while exploring other promising talents in the farm system. The episode tackles a potential Brendan Donovan trade scenario and its implications for the team’s future. Plus, catch insights on Max Scherzer’s playoff heroics and Shohei Ohtani’s jaw-dropping three-homer game.

Tune in for an in-depth look at the Cardinals’ evolving roster and the exciting prospects reshaping the team’s future.

0:00 JJ Wetherholt hype train boarding

5:07 Where will Wetherholt play in majors?

10:14 Other prospects who caught scouts’ eyes

15:51 Pitching prospects to watch in 2026

20:57 Potential Brendan Donovan trade proposal analyzed

26:33 Max Scherzer’s impressive playoff performance

29:09 Shohei Ohtani’s incredible game for Dodgers

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