Wetherholt Proves To Be Building Block for Future in 2026

Growth, as St. Louis Cardinals’ manager Oliver Marmol pointed out repeatedly over the final month of the 2026 season, can be measured in a variety of ways.

One way, of course, is the standings – an area where the Cardinals fell back a win from 2025 (78-84) to 2026 (77-85), one that was somewhat expected with the widespread youth on the roster and the club selling off veteran pitchers JoJo Romero and Dustin May for prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline.

Instead, the Cardinals tried to evaluate areas of growth in non-traditional ways in a non-traditional season in St. Louis.

Growth was having a defined core group of players – Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera, Masyn Winn, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy and Riley O’Brien – take major steps in their games and evolve into building blocks.

Growth was seeing Leo Bernal, Joshua Baez, Quinn Mathews, Cooper Hjerpe and Nathan Church live up to the hype that followed them from the Minor Leagues and show signs they can be depended on going forward.

Growth was Andre Pallante and Gordon Graceffo shaking off the struggles of 2025 and showing the fortitude to change the trajectory of their careers.

“This is a really young group, but there’s been a lot of progress with so many of these guys,” Marmol said. “You can go up and down the lineup and you see growth from so many of our guys. Then, go to the rotation and what McGreevy, Pallante and Leahy did this season, and the bullpen as well. Our staff has really enjoyed pouring into that group. They are hungry for information and they want to be coaches, so that’s made it a lot of fun.”

However, as president of baseball operation Chaim Bloom reminds, the Cardinals still have major gulfs between them and MLB’s top teams. The National League champion Brewers, after all, finished 26 games ahead of St. Louis and battered the Cards in 11 of 13 head-to-head meetings. Much more growth is needed for the Cards to better navigate the difference the rebuilding and contending.

With growth being the focus, let’s look back at the performances by individual players in the 2026 season and how they will figure into the Cards’ plans going forward in 2027 and beyond:

Player name: JJ Wetherholt

Age: 23

How acquired: Selected by the Cardinals with the No. 7 pick of the 2024 MLB Draft

2026 statistics: 161 games, .241/.353/.382/.735, 98 runs, 146 hits, 26 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs, 69 RBI, 138 strikeouts, 76 walks, eight stolen bases in eight tries.

Key numbers: Wetherholt set a rookie record for Outs Above Average (since the metric’s creation in 2016) by compiling 25 – one shy of MLB leader Pete Crow-Armstrong in 2026. Wetherholt is expected to join Brendan Donovan (2022) as the only rookies in the storied history of the Cardinals to win Gold Glove award.

Looking back to 2026: Wetherholt, who battled Reds' infielder Sal Stewart for the Rookie of the Year award all season, showed almost immediately that he was worthy of the praise heaped into him as the Cardinals’ top prospect after he was selected No. 7 in the 2024 MLB Draft. He homered in his first MLB game, delivered a walk-off winner in his second game and had his first multi-homer game within his first month of being in the big leagues. His bat eventually cooled a bit – especially in August and September when he was battling tendinitis in his right wrist. Also, the 23-year-old showed that could handle the rigors of playing second base by playing the position better than any player in MLB in 2026. Both Wetherholt and double play partner Masyn Winn could Gold Gloves – something that would make them the eighth set of middle infielders on the same team to sweep the Gold Glove awards since 2000.      

Looking forward to 2027: Advanced analytics show that Wetherholt might have markedly more production coming in 2027 after he was one of the game’s “unluckiest” hitters in 2026. Wetherholt’s final statistics show that he hit .242 with a .365 slugging percentage and a .318 wOBA (weighted on-base average – a statistic that accounts for how a player reached base and it gives credit for extra-base hits over singles and walks). However, based on the quality of contact that Wetherholt made in his 619 plate appearances, his “expected” numbers should have been a .255 batting average, a .435 slugging percentage that would have been 70 points higher and a wOBA of .347. The difference between Wetherholt’s actual numbers and his expected numbers is called the “composite luck gap.” Wetherholt’s minus-.112 “composite luck gap” ranked fourth in MLB in 2026, behind Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto (minus-.142), Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (minus-.117) and Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager (minus-.080).

Denton’s analysis: The Cardinals saw enough from Wetherholt over the season’s first four months to know that he is the kind of foundational piece they will build around for years to come. Wetherholt’s strong start to the season earned him an eight-year deal extension – one with no player or team opt-out clauses – that could be worth as much as $132 million if he hits all the incentives. The mature and grounded Wetherholt could be the kind of player that the Cardinals can pencil into their leadoff spot and at second base for the next decade. The Cardinals are confident that his plate discipline and ability to hit the ball to all fields will ultimately make him an even more impactful hitter in the years to come.