photo: JJ Wetherholt and Brycen Mautz via Zoom (St. Louis Cardinals)
The St. Louis Cardinals announced their 2025 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, infielder JJ Wetherholt and left-handed starting pitcher Brycen Mautz.
St. Louis Cardinals release
Cardinal Minor League Player of the Year – INF JJ Wetherholt
Wetherholt, 23, was one of top minor league hitters of the season slashing .306/.421/.510 with 17 home runs, 28 doubles, two triples, 59 RBI, 82 runs scored, 23 stolen bases and a .931 OPS across 109 games with Double-A Springfield (62 games) and Triple-A Memphis (47 games). He was one of six players across Minor League Baseball this season to slash greater than .300/.400/.500 while also stealing at least 20 bases (min. 300 plate appearances) and the first Cardinals minor leaguer to do so in the last 59 years (Ted Savage, 1966).
The left-handed batter ranked among the Cardinals minor league leaders in OPS (2nd), batting average (3rd), on-base percentage (2nd), slugging percentage (3rd), hits (125, 2nd), extra-base hits (47, 2nd) doubles (2nd), home runs (3rd), walks (72, 1st), runs (1st), stolen bases (T6th), and RBI (8th) (min. 350 plate appearances). His .421 on-base percentage ranked fifth among all qualified minor league players.
“JJ’s 2025 season was a model of consistent excellence, both in the form of on-field results, and in process,” said Larry Day, Cardinals Director of Player Development. “He combined elite swing decisions and contact quality with relentless daily preparation, and his commitment to refining every aspect of his game on both sides of the ball was evident from start to finish. This mindset and deliberate approach to how he trains and prepares has translated into on-field production and sets the foundation for sustained success as we look ahead.”
Starting across multiple infield positions (61 games at shortstop, 20 games at second base, 12 games at third base), Wetherholt ranked second in the Cardinals farm system with 11 games of three-or-more hits and reached base safely in 96 of his 109 games played (88.1%), 72 of which included reaching safely multiple times (66.1%).
He was instrumental in the Springfield Cardinals finishing as first half champions, playing in 62 of the team’s first 81 games before his July 7 promotion to Memphis. In his 109 games played this season, Springfield and Memphis combined for a 68-41 record (.624 winning percentage) versus a 17-18 record when he did not play.
Following the season, JJ was recognized as the Texas League’s Most Valuable Player, in addition to being named the International League’s Top MLB Prospect and to the All-MiLB Prospect First Team. He currently ranks as one of the top MLB prospects by Baseball America (No. 4), MLB Pipeline (No. 5), and FanGraphs (No. 9).
Selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of West Virigina University, the club’s consensus top prospect becomes the fifth middle infielder to win the organization’s Player of the Year award, joining Kolton Wong (2013), Adam Kennedy (1999), Pablo Ozuna (1998), and Brent Butler (1997). He also becomes the sixth player to win the organizational honor one year after being drafted by the club joining Jordan Walker (2021), Matt Carpenter (2010), Colby Rasmus (2006), Albert Pujols (2000), and Butler.
Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year – LHP Brycen Mautz
Mautz, 24, completed his third professional season with an 8-3 record, 2.98 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 134 strikeouts in 25 starts (114.2 IP) for Springfield.
The 6’4’’ southpaw ranked among Cardinals minor league pitching leaders in wins (T-4th), strikeouts (T-2nd), starts (T-3rd), ERA (6th), innings pitched (5th), strikeout percentage (28.6%, 8th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.06, 5th), WHIP (6th), and opponent on-base percentage (.277, 4th) (min. 50.0 innings pitched).
“Brycen’s 2025 season showcased tremendous growth through a calculated process. Those that know Brycen are not surprised, after he spent an off-season dedicating himself to velocity development,” explained Day. He showed the ability to translate deliberate mound work and athletic throwing programs into an impressive string of quality starts, while also refining his breaking ball shapes and fastball execution. The in-game results are outcomes of Brycen’s willingness to lean into his development plan with intent and maturity, blending mechanical refinement, pitch design, and strength work into a complete starter’s routine. From afar, it was awesome to watch Mautzy solidify big-league-caliber habits.”
Mautz pitched 6.0 innings or more in four starts (all quality) and reached 5.0 innings or longer in 14 of 25 outings. Additionally, the left-hander yielded zero earned runs in seven starts, one run or fewer in 16 outings, and two runs or fewer in 21 starts. Springfield was 17-8 in Brycen’s starts this season, the best team winning percentage (.680) of any Cardinals minor league pitcher to make at least 20 starts.
Over his final 12 regular season starts, Mautz went 7-1 while registering a 1.95 ERA (60.0 IP), striking out 69 batters and limiting opponents to a .201 batting average, highlighted by a 6.0 inning, one-hit performance with a season-high 10 strikeouts at San Antonio on August 8.
Mautz started and won both of Springfield’s series-clinching games in the Texas League playoffs as the club celebrated its first league championship since 2012 (second overall). The left-hander finished the postseason with a 2-0 record and just one run allowed in 11.0 IP, blanking Tulsa (AA-Dodgers) over 5.0 innings in the semifinals and then hurling 6.0 innings of one-run ball in the winner-take-all championship game at Midland (AA-Athletics) on Sept. 24.
His efforts led him to be named to the Texas League Post-Season All-Star Team after pacing all league qualifiers in WHIP, opponent on-base pct., and winning pct., while also ranking among league leaders in ERA (2nd), opponent batting average (.219, 3rd), strikeouts (T-4th), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3rd), strikeout percentage (2nd), and strikeouts/9 IP (10.52, 2nd).
Mautz was twice named Texas League Pitcher of Week (April 14-20 and August 4-10) and was recognized as Texas League Pitcher of the Month for July after going 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA (23.0 IP) in five starts. The left-hander allowed one or fewer runs in all five outings while striking out 28 and allowed only 16 hits (.193 batting average).
The San Diego, California native was selected by the Cardinals on his 21st birthday in the second round (59th overall) of the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of San Diego. He becomes the eighth left-handed pitcher to win the award, joining Quinn Mathews (2024), Matthew Liberatore (2021), Austin Gomber (2015), Marco Gonzalez (2014), Tyler Johnson (2002), Bud Smith (2000), and Rick Ankiel (1998-99).
Brian Walton’s take
Congratulations to the winners. Earlier choices for comparable honors by The Cardinal Nation are catcher Rainiel Rodriguez and left-hander Ixan Henderson.
The Player selection was close and as such, I expected the Cardinals would take the surer thing closest to the majors in Wetherholt. On the pitching side, Henderson and Mautz were Springfield teammates the entire season. While the latter was a Texas League All-Star, the former was the Double-A league’s Pitcher of the Year. The Cardinals clearly felt differently about their seasons relatively.
Compare candidate results in these two articles and decide for yourself.
TCN’s 2025 Cardinals Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year
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