The Major League Baseball Draft Lottery is complete, and JJ Wetherholt was the 7th pick of the 1st round by the St. Louis Cardinals.
The WVU second baseman will enter the 2024 college baseball season as a projected Top 5 pick by almost every baseball website. He rocketed up MLB Draft boards and mock drafts this spring after hitting for a .449 batting average, and being named Big 12 Player of the Year.
Unbelievable hitter. [He] won the batting title last year. Hit almost .450. Power showed up. Stole a bunch of bases. He can really, really hit. I think he’s going to go out in the spring and show that he can play shortstop,” said Mayo. “He’s played mostly second base before. I don’t know if this might be splitting hairs over some of the other guys at the top of the college list, but I think that his ability to show he can handle a premium position is what kind of gave him the very slight edge over the (next) guy.”
Wetherholt put together one of the best offensive seasons in WVU baseball history. He was a unanimous first-team All-American, NCBWA District 2 Player of the Year, and a finalist or semifinalist for a slew of national awards. At the plate, the Mars, Pennsylvania, native clubbed 16 home runs, 24 doubles and two triples, becoming the first player since 2002 with 40 extra-base hits and 36 stolen bases.