Do you have the patience if Wetherholt struggles early in 2026 ?

[ramfandan]

If Wetherholt makes the opening day roster , Cardinal fans will certainly be excited to watch JJ play .

He could start out like gangbusters , play decently , or even struggle some . If it would be the latter, do you have the patience to stick with JJ in a starting role and let him work on adjustments to major league caliber pitching ?
Of course , some will say 'oh , another example of 'rushing' a kid ?

If you are the type to lose patience quickly , this division rookie in 2024 struggled early but rebounded quite nicely.
Jackson Chourio , Brewers No. 1 rates prospect , made the team at age 20. Very talented and exciting player like JJ.

Chourio had it quite rough . By the end of May, he was hitting .210 with a .581 OPS . While he did sit a few games, Pat Murphy had the patience to stick with the kid. He took off in June. By the end of Aug. , Chourio had increased his BA to .273 15 HR and a .886 OPS (In that month of June he hit .305 after the horrendous first two months.
The kid had to make adjustments to major league caliber pitching (the very best in the sport ) .
At the end of the season , Chourio was voted 3rd best Rookie of the Year honors.

Best case scenario would be JJ plays like Nick Kurtz right out of the box but it could also go the other way too.
Have patience like Murph did with Chourio ! JJ looks like a very good one too !

[Ozziesfan41]

If Wetherholt makes the opening day roster , Cardinal fans will certainly be excited to watch JJ play .

He could start out like gangbusters , play decently , or even struggle some . If it would be the latter, do you have the patience to stick with JJ in a starting role and let him work on adjustments to major league caliber pitching ?
Of course , some will say 'oh , another example of 'rushing' a kid ?

If you are the type to lose patience quickly , this division rookie in 2024 struggled early but rebounded quite nicely.
Jackson Chourio , Brewers No. 1 rates prospect , made the team at age 20. Very talented and exciting player like JJ.

Chourio had it quite rough . By the end of May, he was hitting .210 with a .581 OPS . While he did sit a few games, Pat Murphy had the patience to stick with the kid. He took off in June. By the end of Aug. , Chourio had increased his BA to .273 15 HR and a .886 OPS (In that month of June he hit .305 after the horrendous first two months.
The kid had to make adjustments to major league caliber pitching (the very best in the sport ) .
At the end of the season , Chourio was voted 3rd best Rookie of the Year honors.

Best case scenario would be JJ plays like Nick Kurtz right out of the box but it could also go the other way too.
Have patience like Murph did with Chourio ! JJ looks like a very good one too !

I do a lot will not though they will be proclaiming him another overhyped cardinals prospect after a week long slump

[ScotchMIrish]

Excellent question. A rebuild required patience. As Pirates fans about patience.

[OldRed]

The question will be will Oli play him regularly or jack him around like he does all young players.

[ecleme22]

Of course you have patience. It’s his rookie season.

[ramfandan]

The question will be will Oli play him regularly or jack him around like he does all young players.

Good question, Old Red ! My response is this : I believe Bloom and Oli will have an understanding that JJ will play thru thick and thin.
If Oli does jack him around, it would probably be his death sentence for any chance to return to manager for 2027 .

[ramfandan]

If Wetherholt makes the opening day roster , Cardinal fans will certainly be excited to watch JJ play .

He could start out like gangbusters , play decently , or even struggle some . If it would be the latter, do you have the patience to stick with JJ in a starting role and let him work on adjustments to major league caliber pitching ?
Of course , some will say 'oh , another example of 'rushing' a kid ?

If you are the type to lose patience quickly , this division rookie in 2024 struggled early but rebounded quite nicely.
Jackson Chourio , Brewers No. 1 rates prospect , made the team at age 20. Very talented and exciting player like JJ.

Chourio had it quite rough . By the end of May, he was hitting .210 with a .581 OPS . While he did sit a few games, Pat Murphy had the patience to stick with the kid. He took off in June. By the end of Aug. , Chourio had increased his BA to .273 15 HR and a .886 OPS (In that month of June he hit .305 after the horrendous first two months.
The kid had to make adjustments to major league caliber pitching (the very best in the sport ) .
At the end of the season , Chourio was voted 3rd best Rookie of the Year honors.

Best case scenario would be JJ plays like Nick Kurtz right out of the box but it could also go the other way too.
Have patience like Murph did with Chourio ! JJ looks like a very good one too !

I do a lot will not though they will be proclaiming him another overhyped cardinals prospect after a week long slump

Speaking of long slumps.. When I watched MLB interviewing the Managers of the Year the other night, Pat Murphy had interesting comment. He said I don't care if a kid goes 0 for 20 as long as he swings and misses on strike pitches. It's when you chase balls , that is a problem .
One good trait that JJ has already shown is that he doesn't have a high chase rate. He has a good eye and swings at strikes and not so much at balls.
I am like you I will have patience. Let him play and work it out like Chourio did.

[ramfandan]

Of course you have patience. It’s his rookie season.

Good that some of his do . For those that do not, I suggest they go look at the baseball reference career stats of Mike Trout and see how he did his rookie year. The slam dunk first ballot Hall of Famer rookie stats may surprise some.

[Jatalk]

I’ll give him three years and then bash him. Heck I put up with Gorman and Walker for a couple of years. I’m sure I can tolerate JJ.

[2ninr]

JJ has hit at every stop and there's no reason to believe he won't in the majors. Sure he might start slow, or they adjust to him. He will figure it out.

[rockondlouie]

Oh H E L L yea we have to have patience!

And I'm 99.999% sure he's the OD 2nd baseman unless he just totally looks overmatched (not likely) in STing.

This kid has the pedigree and it may take him a while to get adjusted.

There's only a few players ever who take MLB by storm, ala A. Pujols!

Even the great W. Mays started his career 1 for his first 32 PA's.

Little patience, yeah
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah
Some more patience, yeah

(That's for you BDog)

[rockondlouie]

The question will be will Oli play him regularly or jack him around like he does all young players.

I don't see C. Bloom allowing him to do that OR.

JJW is the OD 2nd baseman and stays there for as many games as he can play.

JMO

[Basil Shabazz]

Of course.

I still have some patience for Gorman and Walker actually.

[Strummer Jones]

We've been way more patient for guys far less heralded.

[45s]

It’s more likely he will struggle in the second half….after the league figures him out…

The highly rated Cam Smith made the Astros mlb roster in 25…..and was outstanding in the first half..

Once or twice through the league and he just disappeared in the second half…

Patience Grasshopper…

[Basil Shabazz]

It’s more likely he will struggle in the second half….after the league figures him out…

The highly rated Cam Smith made the Astros mlb roster in 25…..and was outstanding in the first half..

Once or twice through the league and he just disappeared in the second half…

Patience Grasshopper…

It seems that JJWs trend has been to struggle in the very early going and then go on a tear.