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The St. Louis Cardinals got a steal in the first round when slugging middle-infielder J.J. Wetherholt fell into their laps at the number seven slot. Then, the team made a solid pick drafting Brian Holiday with the 80th overall pick.
Cardinals Couldn’t Pass on a Talent Like Wetherholt
Wetherholt was hailed by many as the best pure hitter in the draft and was touted as a possible number one pick. Many were shocked that he fell out of the top five. The left-handed hitting infielder won the Big 12 Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for Golden Spikes honors his sophomore year. The infielder put up an impressive slash line of .449/.517/.787 with a 1.304 OPS. Additionally, he launched 16 homers with 60 RBI’s and 36 stolen bases in only 268 plate appearances. Furthermore, the performance solidified his status as one of the top hitters at the collegiate level.
Unfortunately for Wetherholt, he suffered a Grade 3 hamstring strain, which caused him to miss most of his junior season. However, the slugger still managed a .331 batting average with a .472 OBP and .589 slugging percentage in limited time. Also, he improved his plate discipline in 2024. The young slugger had more walks during his junior year, with 104 fewer plate appearances.
Unconventional Path for Holiday
The Cardinals selected right-handed pitcher Brian Holiday from Oklahoma State with their second pick at 80th overall. The young righty had somewhat of an unconventional path to being drafted. Seemingly, the undersized pitcher has been underestimated every step of the way.
At 5’11”, Holiday was overlooked out of high school, not receiving any scholarship offers. Undoubtedly, this fueled the fiery righty to prove all naysayers wrong. He began his college career as a walk-on at Florida SouthWestern State College. He then moved on to the equally small College of Central Florida. During the 2023 season, he led his team to a national championship while finishing with 141 strikeouts over 88 innings. His performance caught the eye of the coaching staff at Oklahoma State University, and he didn’t disappoint.
Holiday had 128 strikeouts during the 2024 season to lead the Big 12. Additionally, the righty logged a 2.95 ERA, a .199 opponent batting average, a 28.6% strikeout rate, and a 6.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was an ace for the Cowboys all season and was named a second team All-American. His 128 punchouts came over 113 innings. The righty has a low to mid-nineties fastball that he has tremendous control with. Additionally, he has a nice 12-6 curveball in the mid-seventies and a change-up that sits in the low eighties. The young pitcher seemingly has a lot of potential, and the adversity he has faced so far should help him deal with future struggles at the professional level.
Cardinals’ Director of Scouting Randy Flores has Another Strong Draft
The Cardinals’ Assistant GM/Director of Scouting Randy Flores is once again putting together a nice draft. He has repeatedly made excellent choices in the draft. His best performance so far has been in 2020 when he snagged Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, and Alec Burleson. Hopefully, the Cardinal organization will make the best of this year’s picks and will let them develop. Furthermore, fans should hope that the organization learned from their mistakes with Walker. If they decide to switch Wetherholt to the outfield, they should do it before he reaches the Major League level.
