Although former WVU baseball star JJ Wetherholt may not get promoted to the major leagues this season, that does not mean that he has not figured it out how to show out at the plate in the minor leagues so far. Wetherholt is tearing the cover off the ball this summer.
Recently, Wetherholt gave some insight into his approach and how he tries to prepare before at-bats. Earlier this summer, the former Mountaineer was on MLB Network talking about his swing and some of his adjustments at the plate. This time, Wetherholt discussed some topics about his hitting that he tries to focus on.
Our @EmilyCWaldon talked with our #4 MLB prospect JJ Wetherholt in Triple-A last week!
— The Call Up | An MLB Prospect Podcast (@The_CallUpPod) August 19, 2025
Read the full article for these and more insights from one of the best prospects in the game⬇️ pic.twitter.com/sXa0blOqzU
“What I’ve been trying to do is just not worry so much about chasing or swinging at a bad pitch, but just get up there, stay aggressive, and get my swing off,” Wetherholt said in an interview with The Call Up Podcast.
Wetherholt also added a second bit of insight to his approach at the plate.
“I think the biggest thing for me is I’ve been naturally a more vertical hitter, so that up-swing that talk about,” Wetherholt said.
The Call Up Podcast currently has JJ Wetherholt as their fourth-ranked prospect in all of MLB. MLB.com has Wetherholt as the top prospect in the Cardinals’ farm system and the number sixth-ranked prospect in the MLB.
Through 90 games split between AA and AAA (62 and 28 games, respectively), Wetherholt is hitting for a .298/.413/.518 slash line and a .931 OPS. In 2025, Wetherholt accumulated 16 home runs and 18 stolen bases across both levels.
The Mars, Pennsylvania, native has been almost better against better competition in AAA than he was playing in AA. Now, don’t think for a second that Wetherholt was playing badly at all at the AA level. It is quite the opposite, Wetherholt was tearing it up in AA, earning him a promotion to AAA.
Unfortunately, there is a high chance that Cardinals and WVU fans will not see Wetherholt at the big-league level this season. But regardless of Wetherholt making his MLB debut this season, next season, or another season, there should be little doubt that Wetherholt will be a contributing player at the major league level when he gets his chance.
Wetherholt will get his time to shine. When? We will have to wait and see. One thing that many Cardinals and WVU fans can agree on, it will be an exciting time when he gets his chance to play at the MLB level.