Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Is Matching Bobby Witt Jr.’s Elite Defensive Pace

When the 2026 Major League Baseball season wraps up, St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt should win the National League Rookie of the Year Award, without a doubt.

Wetherholt entered the season as the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball and he has outperformed his lofty expectations. Despite the fact that he's 23 years old, Wetherholt has looked like a 10-year veteran already. Wetherholt has played in 79 games and is slashing .259/.357/.401 with a .758 OPS, 12 homers, 34 RBIs, 37 walks, eight doubles and 49 runs scored. Wetherholt has struck out just 57 times total this season, despite the fact that he's in his first season in the majors.

Typically, you see more of a learning curve, even from top prospects. But Wetherholt has been incredible. He is already at 3.7 wins above replacement, which is tied for 13th in baseball with Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox and Eduardo Rodriguez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Even with the high expectations around Wetherholt, who saw this coming?

JJ Wetherholt Is A Special Talent

Jun 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) throws from his knees against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When it comes to Wetherholt, it was known coming into the season that he had a potentially elite bat. But what makes him even more special is how quickly he has transformed his game defensively. In Spring Training, defense was an area of Wetherholt's game that was talked about as something that could use some work. Well, he clearly took that seriously.

Wetherholt is tied with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals for the most outs above replacement in the league with 16. The closest player to Wetherholt in the National League is Pete Crow-Armstrong at 14. That is the most shocking part of Wetherholt's season so far. His offensive game has been great, but everyone knew he could hit.

Defensively, Wetherholt has already taken his game to the point of being among the very best in the league. Wetherholt shouldn't just win the National League Rookie of the Year Award, he should be an All-Star and win the National League Gold Glove Award over at second base. If he can keep up this level of play, he'll put himself into contention for the National League Platinum Glove as well.

If you're a Cardinals fan, it's safe to be extremely excited about this guy. He has shown that he's not just a good prospect, but an excellent, All-Star level big leaguer. He's just going to get better as well. This is just the beginning for him.

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