Cardinals Rookie JJ Wetherholt Is Chasing Rare MLB History

The St. Louis Cardinals have got to be happy about JJ Wetherholt's play so far this season.

May 12, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Athletics during the sixth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

If you're a St. Louis Cardinals fan, it's hard not to be very excited about the future of this organization.

The big-league roster is young, and we've seen guys take positive steps forward in 2026, like Jordan Walker. The point of the 2026 season has been development and seeing what the club has for the future. That's another reason why Walker's breakout has been as great to watch as it has been. The whole point of the season is giving young guys extended opportunities to see if they can do anything with them. Walker has. There were fans calling on the Cardinals to send him down to Triple-A after a bad Spring Training. Fortunately, the club didn't listen and stuck with the plan.

Walker has been exciting, but he's not the only one. Rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt is right there with him as the two most exciting players on the roster right now. Wetherholt has lived up to the hype right away after making the big league club out of camp. He has played in 56 games and is slashing .250/.362/.407 with a .769 OPS, nine homers, 25 RBIs, seven stolen bases, 29 walks, seven doubles and 39 runs scored. He's also in the 100th percentile in outs above average with 10. Simply put, Wetherholt has looked like a star.

JJ Wetherholt Has Looked Like A Star

May 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

That's not all, though. Wetherholt is on pace for some history as well. Josh Jacobs of MLB.com pointed out that Wetherholt is on pace to have a 7 fWAR season, which would be the highest mark by a rookie second baseman in 100 years.

"Wetherholt is currently on pace for a 7 fWAR season, which would be the best year from a rookie second baseman over the last 100 years," Jacobs wrote. "Only one rookie second baseman has ever had even a 6 fWAR season in the last century (Cardinals’ Lou Klein in 1943). It’s rare to find a middle infielder who is as impactful as Wetherholt in their rookie season, and it’s a big reason why the Cardinals have been so successful early in the year."

That's just absurd and goes to show how fortunate the Cardinals are to have him. This is a 23-year-old we're talking about. He's nowhere near what he can be, and yet he's already making history and thriving at the big league level. The next step should be a long-term contract extension because the longer the Cardinals wait, the higher the price is going to be if he keeps playing like this.