Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Could Be Next in Line for Future Commitment

JJ Wetherholt has been as good as advertised.

May 8, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a RBI single during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are off to a hot start this season. Contrary to their expectations, they are 23-15 and currently leading the National League wild card race. They even secured at least a series split over the San Diego Padres.

Top prospect JJ Wetherholt has been every bit as good as advertised, having hit seven home runs already and posting a .764 OPS while also driving in 20 runs. He has become the team's leadoff hitter and has run with his opportunity.

Will Leitch of MLB.com did an assessment of who could be next to receive a contract extension for the Cardinals, and first on the list was Wetherholt.

The case for a Wetherholt extension

May 8, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) celebrates scoring against San Diego Padres catcher Freddy Fermin (54) during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

"Since his very first at-bat, the Cardinals rookie has looked like he has been playing in the Majors for a decade already, and he keeps getting better. Everything the Cardinals do over the next half-decade, they’ll want Wetherholt to be a part of it," Leitch wrote.

"If Wetherholt looks like a superstar, then you have to justify paying superstar money for those extra years at the beginning of his 30s, again, as a middle infielder. Does it make sense for the Cardinals to just enjoy these next six years -- when they will be expecting to compete annually -- and see how it plays out? As always: It depends on the terms. If the Cardinals can tack on a couple of years of control at what they see as a reasonable price, they may sign up for that."

Wetherholt could always regress some, but if he has more performances like he did on Friday night against the Padres with his little league grand slam, then it's going to be hard for the Cardinals to justify not giving him a contract extension. The Pittsburgh Pirates already did it with Konnor Griffin, and the Detroit Tigers did the same with Kevin McGonigle.

Wetherholt will be 24 in September, but he still has a lot of good years ahead of him. This is the piece that the Cardinals are going to want to build around for the next several years. The future should revolve around him as the next centerpiece of the organization.

If he stays hot, then the Cardinals should be in good shape for the rest of the season. But perhaps extending him could be their quickest path back to contention, because by then, they will know who is going to be part of their future.