JJ Wetherholt: Cardinals' New Hope

0:00It's April 27, I'm Cory with the story, and this is MLB News Today Baseball News, powered by AI. The St. Louis Cardinals are hitting a rough patch, dropping four straight games, and sitting at 14 wins and 13 losses. That posed them just one game, over 500 in dead last, in a tight National League Central Division. But the real story is rookie second baseman J.J. Weatherhole, who's exploding early with five home runs, and a 0.769 on base plus lugging. Percentage. They added him straight to the opening day roster after a strong spring, and he's already boosting their offense big time. Experts like Jim Bowden, from the athletic are buzzing, calling Weatherhole a prime candidate for a contract extension. Bowden raves about his base reaching skills, power, speed, and elite defense a second base, where he's topping charts and outs above average, and fielding run value. In a rebuild mode, the Cardinals see him as the cornerstone player to anger their lineup for years.

1:00His smooth shift from shortstop shows he's got that all around game, plus leadership bives in the clubhouse. Locking him up now could spark the next era, echoing the glory days of homegrown stars like Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, and finally give fans. That fresh hope they've been craving.