Cardinals' Chaim Bloom Praises JJ Wetherholt After Opening Day Blast

The future is bright in St. Louis.

Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) reacts after hitting a solo home run for his first major league hit during his major league debut in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals started off the 2026 season with a bang, coming back from a 7-1 deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 9-7. The highlight of the day was Alec Burleson's go-ahead home run to cap off an eight-run sixth inning, but it wasn't the only big moment.

Top prospect JJ Wetherholt, hitting leadoff in his MLB debut, opened the scoring with a solo home run for his first big-league hit. He also had a sacrifice fly to tie the game at seven in the bottom of the sixth.

After the game, new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom had nothing but good things to say about the early Rookie of the Year candidate in his recent interview for a story by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Chaim Bloom praises JJ Wetherholt

Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a solo home run for his first major league hit during his major league debut in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"“He never gave us any reason to think he shouldn’t be there,” Bloom said. “I think that’s true to where he’s hitting in the lineup. It should be fun.”

Wetherholt's only hit was his home run, but he made that hit count, and he also helped the Cardinals spark their comeback against the Rays. So far, there are nothing but positive signs for the 23-year-old.

The Cardinals traded players such as Brendan Donovan, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado to open up more playing time for Wetherholt. Now, he has the opportunity and can run with it.

The Cardinals selected Wetherholt in the first round of the 2024 draft back. He and Liam Doyle have helped revitalize the organization's farm system. But with Wetherholt now in the major leagues, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the future.

The Cardinals haven't had a top prospect of this caliber since the days of Oscar Taveras, and they haven't developed a true superstar since Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina. However, Wetherholt may be the one to change the trajectory of the team.

Bloom certainly believes in the top prospect and likes what he sees from him. If Wetherholt can build off of his Opening Day success, then the 2026 season should be an exciting one for him, and the should be able to potentially help the Cardinals outperform their expectations.

Wetherholt is the player that Bloom and the Cardinals are going to want to build around, and in a few short years, they may have the star that they have been seeking for so long