Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Rookie Season Is Closer to Aaron Judge Than You'd Think

When the 2026 Major League Baseball season began, the hope around St. Louis was that rookie phenom JJ Wetherholt would be able to make an impact right away for the Cardinals.

He was the No. 5 overall prospect in the game and St. Louis' top prospect heading into the season. Still, the expectations were very high, despite the fact that he's just 23 years old. There certainly was a lot of pressure on the young infielder, but he has done nothing short of impress. In fact, he has actually outperformed the lofty expectations that were put on him.

So far this season, Wetherholt has played in 58 games for the Cardinals and is slashing .249/.357/.400 with a .757 OPS, nine homers, 25 RBIs, seven stolen bases, seven doubles, and 29 walks. On top of this, he is tied for the second-highest outs above average mark in the league at 11, which is in the 100th percentile.

JJ Wetherholt Is A Superstar In the Making

May 30, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) singles against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

It's an all-around great season for the second baseman so far in 2026 and he's also tied for 13th in the league with 2.8 wins above replacement. That's ahead of plenty of guys, including Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves, Juan Soto of the New York Mets, and Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, among many others.

Despite a handful of big-name National League rookies, Wetherholt is leading the group in WAR right now. Wetherholt is not just playing like one of the rookies in the league, though. But one of the best overall players in the league, and that's not common for a rookie. To put it into perspective how good Wetherholt's rookie season has gone, STL Sports Central shared on X that Wetherholt is on pace for an 8-WAR season and if he reaches that mark, he'd be just the third "modern" rookie to do so, joining Trout and Aaron Judge.

JJ Wetherholt is on pace for an 8.0 bWAR season 📈

The only modern MLB rookies to hit that level:

- Mike Trout (10.5, 2012)
- Aaron Judge (8.0, 2017)

That's the company JJ is keeping. Bernie on the Rookie of the Year case: pic.twitter.com/uQhIdGLZs7
— STL Sports Central (@STLSprtsCntrl) June 5, 2026

If you are having your name mentioned alongside guys like Judge and Trout, you're doing something right. And, again, Wetherholt is just 23 years old. He won't turn 24 years old until Sep. 10. It's pretty safe to say that the Cardinals have found a legit star in the making. With Jordan Walker breaking out this season, the Cadinals have their top two pieces to build this organization around.

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