JJ Wetherholt made the St. Louis Cardinals’ Opening Day roster, and he hasn’t stopped hitting since. The Cardinals have been one of the surprise stories of the 2026 season. After the team parted ways with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in consecutive seasons, I don’t think anyone expected them to be in a position to make the Postseason this soon after, and JJ Wetherholt is a big reason why.

Wetherholt has played all but 5 games for the Cardinals to this point in the season and has 15 homers and 40 RBIs to his credit. His 97 hits are 3rd-most on the team, he’s scored the 2nd-most runs behind Home Run Derby champ and NL MVP candidate (or at least he should be) Jordan Walker, He’s tied for 2nd on the team in OPS and his 4.2 WAR not only leads the Cardinals but is the 4th-best mark in the entire National League.

Additionally, a look at advanced statcast metrics show Wetherholt’s true impact. According to Baseball Savant, JJ Wetherholt holds the 2nd-highest Fielding Run Value in all of baseball, behind only Pete Crow-Armstrong. Fielding Run Value is responsible for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance by combining all other measurable defensive metrics onto a single, run-based scale. In laments terms, JJ Wetherholt has been the best overall defensive infielder in the Majors this season.

He’s also in the top 6% of all MLB players in Baserunning Run Value, and he’s in the top 10% in chase rate. He also boasts a strikeout rate of 15.9% and a walk rate of 9.7%, both significantly better than the MLB averages of 22.2% and 8.4% respectively. These numbers may seem complex, but they fall right in line with what I mentioned in Wetherholt’s initial Prospect Spotlight: a professional hitter with a high baseball IQ who can manipulate his barrel to hit the ball hard consistently. His 45.6% Hard Hit Rate proves that (MLB avg. 37.1%).

JJ Wetherholt may very well be the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year, and he would be more that deserving. It’s not often that a young kid steps onto a Major League field and shows a mature approach to the game right out of the gate the way that JJ Wetherholt has. His future is as bright as the sun in St. Louis, and given that he signed an 8-year, $112.5 million contract extension on July 10th, that sun will be signing for a LONG time at Busch Stadium.