\n\n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”thumbnail_url”:null,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Wetherholt really stands out for his speed. The hamstring injury kept him out of the game, but in 2023, Wetherholt stole 36 bases, proving he can be a legitimate base-stealing threat when healthy.\n\nThe 21-year-old hails from the small town of Mars, Pennsylvania, which isn’t a hotbed of baseball talent but hits well above his league. Despite a population of 1,458, Mars has produced the Bednar brothers — Pirates closer David Bednar and Giants 2021 first-round draft pick Will Bednar — in addition to Wetherholt. As a youngster in the area, he played with players like Drake LaRoche, son of former major league first baseman Adam, and Jacob Wilson, son of former shortstop Jack.\n\nWetherholt will try to add something to the surprisingly shallow history of baseball in West Virginia. Only four MLB players who went there played 10 or more years in the major leagues. If and when Wetherholt makes the major leagues, he will look to become the third Mountaineers player to make an All-Star team, joining Alek Manoah (2022) and John Means (’19).”,”type”:”text”}),,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/news/jj-wetherholt-drafted-no-7-by-cardinals-in-2024-mlb-draft”,”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:null,”summary”:”The Cardinals selected West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday.\nWetherholt may be the best all-around hitter in the 2024 MLB Draft class. The No. 4 overall prospect by MLB.com, Wetherholt has a nice left-handed swing that he uses for”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\”})”:null,”tags”:({“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-138″,”title”:”St. Louis Cardinals”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:138″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-draft”,”title”:”MLB Draft”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-top-prospects”,”title”:”MLB Top Prospects”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”dylan-svoboda”,”title”:”Dylan Svoboda”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-802139″,”title”:”JJ Wetherholt”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:802139″},”type”:”player”}),,”type”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/f9rkcqblfk4xranxjlmn”,”title”:”JJ Wetherholt drafted No. 7 by Cardinals in 2024 by MLB Draft”}},”Team:138″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:138},”Person:802139″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”:802139}}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”:”mlbglobal08,mlbcom08″,”linkInternalFilters”:”mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”:”Major League Baseball”,”lang”:”en”} window.appId = ” /*–>*/
July 14, 2024
The Cardinals selected West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft on Sunday.
Wetherholt may well be the best all-around hitter in the 2024 MLB Draft class. Wetherholt, the fourth-ranked draft prospect by MLB.com, has a great left-handed swing that he uses to propel the ball to all pitches with elite bat-to-ball skills. Some scouts have gone so far as to say Wetherholt is the best amateur hitter they’ve ever seen.
The Pittsburgh-area native had his best season in 2023, during his sophomore year at West Virginia. Wetherholt won the Division I hitting title and earned the Big 12 Player of the Year award after hitting .449/.517/.787 with 16 homers and 36 steals.
Wetherholt’s numbers have slipped slightly this season, though that may have something to do with a hamstring injury he suffered in late February that caused him to miss 24 games and hampered him throughout the season. He still managed to post a .331/.472/.589 batting average with eight homers and eight doubles in 36 games.
After playing between third and second base during his first two years with the Mountaineers, Wetherholt has moved to shortstop this season. He has held his own with his strong arm and athleticism, though some scouts see him moving on from that position in the pros.
Wetherholt really stands out for his speed. His hamstring injury kept him away on the bases, but in 2023, Wetherholt stole 36 bases, proving he can be a legitimate base-stealing threat when healthy.
The 21-year-old hails from the small town of Mars, Pennsylvania, which isn’t a hotbed of baseball talent but hits well above its weight class. Despite a population of 1,458, Mars has produced the Bednar brothers — Pirates closer David Bednar and Giants first-round draft pick Will Bednar in 2021 — in addition to Wetherholt. As a youngster in the area, he played with the likes of Drake LaRoche, son of former major league first baseman Adam, and Jacob Wilson, son of former shortstop Jack.
Wetherholt will try to add something to West Virginia’s surprisingly shallow baseball history. Only four MLB players who went there have played 10 or more years in the major leagues. If and when Wetherholt makes the big leagues, he’ll be looking to become the third Mountaineers player to make an All-Star team, joining Alek Manoah (2022) and John Means (’19).
News Source : www.mlb.com
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