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

JJ Wetherholt's NL Rookie of the Year Campaign Off to Hot Start

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Zach Pressnell | Last updated Mar 27, 2026 8:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals came into the season as an obvious rebuilding team after trading players like Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, and Sonny Gray during the offseason.

The Donovan trade opened up a clear lane for top prospect JJ Wetherholt to come in and play second base every day for the Cardinals. Wetherholt was one of the top prospects in all of baseball last year, but he couldn't crack into the big leagues for St. Louis.

However, he earned himself a spot in the starting lineup for the first game of his rookie season and promptly homered to give Cardinals fans a taste of the future.

MLB.com recently shared a lot of high praise for Wetherholt after he homered in his first game at the big league level on Opening Day.

JJ Wetherholt turns heads with Opening Day home run

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

"Wetherholt, MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 overall prospect, did something that no Cardinals player had done in nearly 70 years," they wrote. "In his second big league at-bat, Wetherholt drove an 0-2 fastball over the center-field wall, launching his first home run a Statcast-projected 425 feet. He’s the first Cardinals player to hit a home run in their big league debut on Opening Day since Bobby Smith in 1957."

Wetherholt finished the game 1 for 4 at the dish, but his home run was impressive enough in its own right. On a fastball slightly outside of the zone, Wetherholt was able to blast a huge home run. To see a young infielder make such loud contact on a good pitch from the pitcher is very exciting for Cardinals fans, even if Wetherholt recorded outs in his other three at-bats.

JJ Wetherholt off to hot start for NL Rookie of the Year

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

This home run is a good start to Wetherholt's campaign for the National League Rookie of the Year. The young Cardinals infielder is one of the favorites for the award, but he's going to have quite a bit of competition.

Cincinnati Reds infielder Sal Stewart recorded three hits and two doubles on Opening Day. New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean is a top option for the award, too. He's coming off some impressive performances in the World Baseball Classic and spring training.

But the Cardinals' infielder is off to a hot start. He's certainly somebody to watch this year.

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

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