JJ Wetherholt has burst on the scene as one of the top players and a premier middle infielder in the 2024 MLB draft pool. The Mars, Pennsylvania product lit up Big 12 competition during the 2023 college baseball season. Wetherholt put together an insane .449/.517/.787 triple slash line with 16 home runs as a sophomore for West Virginia while playing second base. As a result, he earned selections to the All-Big 12 team, a unanimous All-American selection and Big 12 Player of the Year honors.
Should Wetherholt declare for the 2024 MLB Draft following his 21st birthday, He’d be chasing Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah, who went 11th overall in 2019, as the highest selected Mountaineer.
An out-of-this-world year for the man from Mars!🌌
Simply put, @jj_wetherholt had the greatest offensive season in Mountaineer history!#HailWV pic.twitter.com/OsLjZnyXBx
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) July 6, 2023
JJ Wetherholt Draft Profile
Strengths
His .449 batting average led all Division I qualified batters in 2023. This even edged out Golden Spikes winner Dylan Crews by 23 percentile points. Wetherholt possesses a short, compact swing from the left side of the plate that allows him to do damage on nearly anything thrown to him. He recorded 101 hits as a sophomore, with 42 of them going for extra bases. He shines on the base path as well, stealing 36 bags on 44 attempts.
The Baltimore Orioles‘ 2023 first-round pick, Enrique Bradfield Jr., received an 80-run tool on the 20-80 scale and had 37. Equally important is the lack of swing-and-miss. Interestingly enough, Wetherholt struck out 22 times or 8.2% of plate appearances in 2023. It was a piece of his game he has been talented at his entire career and wanted to continue to refine. He went to play his summer ball season with the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods league, and after 53 plate appearances was striking out 11% of the time.
Similarly, Wetherholt has shown an eye for the zone. He drew a walk 26 times in 2023, good for a 9.7% walk rate.
Weaknesses
Wetherholt’s positional value may be the only knock against him. He’s been a primary second baseman after playing at third base for part of his freshman season and has even handled some duties in left field during college summer ball in the Northwoods League. Currently, scouts view him as a second baseman or a third baseman. Despite that, an opportunity to meet in the middle and play shortstop like he did as a high schooler would add even more to Wetherholt’s game. Although we’re a ways away from the start of the 2024 college season and finding out if that move is in the cards for Wetherholt.
Even if a positional change isn’t made, Wetherholt’s bat will carry him to where he needs to go. Besides, in a post-banned shift world, being dynamic defensively in the hot corner or at the keystone are a huge bonus to any lineup.
MLB Comparison
When making a comparison to Wetherholt, there’s a bit of Ryne Sandberg to his game. Both are second basemen who play with pop, keep their batting average high and are disciplined at the plate. Sandberg’s 1990 season is a great example to look at, hitting .306/.354/.559 with 40 homers. Sandberg struck out 12.4% of the time and hit a home run 5.9% of it. Similarly, Wetherholt’s aforementioned 8.2% and 7.1% in the respective categories are eerily similar.
Photo Credit: © Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned:
JJ Wetherholt, Alek Manoah, Dylan Crews, Enrique Bradfield Jr., Ryne Sandberg
