Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Lands on Rare Rookie List With Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso

If you're a St. Louis Cardinals fan looking for reasons to be excited about the 2026 club every night, look no further than young second baseman JJ Wetherholt.

Now, if you're a Cardinals fan, you already know this. Wetherholt has taken Major League Baseball by storm since he was selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He shined down in the minors and quickly became one of the top overall prospects in the game. Wetherholt entered the 2026 season as the Cardinals' No. 1 prospect and the No. 5 overall prospect in the game.

He has lived up to the hype in his first taste of MLB action this season. Wetherholt has 28 games under his belt in the big leagues and is slashing .238/.359/.429 with six homers, 14 RBIs, four stolen bases, 15 walks, two doubles and 22 runs scored. If you see these numbers and are impressed, you should be. In fact, he is one of just 13 players younger than 24 years old to hit at least 6 homers, score 20 or more runs and have a .355 on-base percentage or higher in their first 28 games, as shared on X by Brandon Kiley of "BK & Ferrario" on 101 ESPN St. Louis.

The Cardinals Rookie Is Thriving Right Now

Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt (26) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

"The list of players in the last 25 years under the age of 24 with at least 6 HR, 20+ runs & >.355 OBP in their first 28 career games (per Baseball Reference): JJ Wetherholt ('26), Davis Schneider ('23), Will Smith ('19), Pete Alonso ('19), Bo Bichette ('19), Rhys Hoskins ('17), Rafael Devers ('17), Gary Sanchez ('16), Kyle Schwarber ('15), Yasiel Puig ('13), Matt Kemp ('06), Jeff Francoeur ('05), and Adam Dunn ('01)."

Wetherholt is just getting better as well. In fact, he has homered in three straight games for the Cardinals, including a ninth-inning, game-tying blast on Monday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

JJ Wetherholt GAME-TYING homer in the 9th!

He's hit a home run in three straight games 👏 pic.twitter.com/tlWdEDCZHc
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2026

He has been good overall this season, but he's just getting better. On top of the three straight games with a homer, Wetherholt has increased his batting average from .218 on April 22 to .238 now on April 28. He's 23 years old and is just scratching the surface, and yet he already is performing at an elite rate.

The future is bright in St. Louis, to say the least, and it all starts with the young infielder.

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