JJ Wetherholt Delivers Signature Performance in Cardinals' Comeback Win

Apr 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) hits a solo home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

JJ Wetherholt Delivers Signature Performance in Cardinals' Comeback Win

Originally posted on Minor League Baseball on SI
By Justin Binkowski | Last updated Apr 15, 2026 12:55 AM ET

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The St. Louis Cardinals' top prospect, infielder JJ Wetherholt, played a key role in the team's latest victory.

Wetherholt, MLB Pipeline's No. 5 overall prospect for 2026, had the first multi-homer game of his young major league career in St. Louis' 6-5 extra-innings win over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday. The 23-year-old hit a solo shot in the third inning that traveled 396 feet and had an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. That was also the lefty-swinging infielder's first homer since his MLB debut on Opening Day, as well as his first big league blast off a southpaw.

The rookie's second home run of the day came in the eighth inning. With the Cardinals trailing 5-2, Wetherholt hit an opposite-field two-run homer to put St. Louis within one run of Cleveland. While this wasn't another walk-off hit for the young second baseman, it was still a clutch swing that further adds to his early MLB résumé.

How has JJ Wetherholt played so far in the majors?

Wetherholt picked a good time to have arguably his best game yet in the majors. Before his multi-homer performance on Tuesday, the 23-year-old had two hits in his last 20 at-bats. He's now 15-for-65 in his first 17 MLB games, giving him a .231 batting average, .338 on-base percentage, and .723 OPS.

The rookie also now has the second-most homers on the Cardinals so far this year, only behind outfielder Jordan Walker, who leads the entire league with eight blasts. In addition, Wetherholt's 15 hits have him ranked third on St. Louis to begin the season, trailing Walker's 21 and Alec Burleson's 17. And the young second baseman is second on the team in runs scored with 13, once again only behind Walker at 15.

It's also noteworthy that Wetherholt has been the Cardinals' primary leadoff hitter this season. St. Louis could have elected to give the rookie time to acclimate to big league pitching by hitting him lower in the order at first. But instead, the Cardinals showed confidence in their top prospect by immediately putting him at the top of the lineup. And it's seemingly working pretty well so far.

This article first appeared on Minor League Baseball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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