The St. Louis Cardinals aren't in a position to make a postseason push, barring a miracle. Instead, the team is focused on evaluating talent for the 2026 season and beyond, and one of the key pieces of such a future is top prospect JJ Wetherholt.
While he's been dominating in Triple-A, the Cardinals could decide to call him up this season to get him MLB experience. Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants on Fansided.com predicts that the Cardinals would make such a bold decision.
"If the Cardinals want to call up JJ Wetherholt in 2025," Jacobs writes, "their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August makes too much sense."
St. Louis could decide on the Pirates series as Wetherholt's debut series due to two factors. The first is his rookie status. If a player is on the active roster for more than 45 days, then that player loses their rookie status.
It might not seem like a huge factor, but it's a big deal. If Wetherholt doesn't exceed 45 games or 130 at-bats, then the Cardinals would get an extra year of control for their top prospect.
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If he played more than 45 games and had more than 130 at-bats, then Wetherholt would likely become a free agent in the 2031 season. But if he suits up for less, then he'd be a free agent in the 2032 season.
An extra year of control is a big deal and is likely part of why he's yet to be called up this season. But if they do still want to call him up, St. Louis could go with a certain series, as Jacobs highlighted.
"Looking at the Cardinals' schedule," Jacobs writes, "the club would surely want Wetherholt's MLB debut to come during a home game, setting up their Monday night series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 25th as the date fans may want to circle (with pencil) on their calendar."
While this is a prediction, there's a sound reason why this date makes sense as a time for the Cardinals to call up Wetherholt. Not only would his debut come at home, but he'd likely fall short of the at-bats and games needed to exceed his rookie status.
He has a .930 OPS in the minors this season, and at Triple-A, it's an even better 1.026. His statistics give plenty of reason to call him up, and if the Cardinals do call him to the Majors, August 25th is a date to keep in mind.
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