Apr 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop JJ Wetherholt (26) dives to field a ground ball against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt Is MLB's Biggest Defensive Surprise

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Apr 13, 2026 3:00 PM ET

As the 2026 Major League Baseball season approached, it was a pretty much a given that No. 1 prospect JJ Wetherholt was going to break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals and make an impact from Day No. 1.

That's exactly what has happened. Only, the impact hasn't been exactly as expected.

Wetherholt kicked off his big league career with a bang as he launched a homer on Opening Day. Wetherholt arrived in St. Louis and showed everyone around the league the type of player that he can be. When he's at his best, he's a guy who can go out and hit around .300 with 20-plus homers. He has all the tools you could hope for. His offensive skillset is what has really set him apart and why the expectation was that he was going to break camp with St. Louis.

The Cardinals phenom has surprised many people

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

But, he's not going to be red-hot forever offensively. Right now, he's in the middle of a bit of a slump, although he is still impacting games. Through 15 games, Wetherholt has slashed .214/.338/.286 with one homer, five RBIs, three stolen bases,10 walks and 10 runs scored. The batting average isn't great, but he's still getting on base and scoring runs. But, as mentioned above, his impact hasn't been exactly as expected.

Wetherholt is known as a bat-first guy. The expectation was that he would come in and thrive offensively and need some work defensively. That's not to say he was viewed as a bad defender, by any means. But he needed some more polish. Well, he has thrown that idea out the window. Through 15 games, Wetherholt is in the 100th percentile in outs above average with five. He's tied with Kansas City Royals infielder Bobby Witt Jr. for the top mark in the game.

That's not just among infielders, but every position in Major League Baseball. In comparison, Masyn Winn, who was the best defensive shortstop in the National League in 2025, currently has three outs above average. Winn is in the 98th percentile.

Wetherholt's bat will heat back up. He is too talented for that not to be the case. But what has really stood out has been defense. It's not as if he entered the league and has been slightly above-average defensively. He is playing at a Platinum Glove level right now. That's ridiculous. Again, throughout the spring it was talked about how he needs to work on his defense. Fast forward a few months and all of a sudden he looks like one of the best defensive players in the game.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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