Wetherholt's Power Surge Boosts Cardinals' Rebuild

0:00On April 28th, the St. Louis Cardinals kicked off their rebuild this offseason by shipping out stars like Sunny Gray, Wilson Contreras, Nolan, Aaron Nato, and Brennan Donovan. Now they're leaning hard on their farm system, with top prospect J.J. Weatherhold holding down second base all season. Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Weatherhold delivered in the clutch. The cards trailed to nothing into the ninth when Pedro Pages went deep, and Weatherhold followed with a game-time homer to write center. Saint Louis rallied to win 4-2, improving to 15 wins, and 13 losses in the National League Central. Fans and analysts are buzzing about Weatherhold's poise under pressure, calling it his biggest moment yet. Early on, he battled some slumps, but that swing showed he's built for the big stage, especially as the youngest guy anchoring the infield during this. Transition. Lately, he's heating up fast, homering, and three straight gains for six on the year. His lines jumped to batting 238 on base 359, slugging 429, with an OPS near 800.

1:03That puts him on pace for over 30 homers if he stays healthy. With Weatherhold unlocking his power, he could chase Red's rookie south steward for National League rookie of the year honors, and the Cardinals rebuilt. Might accelerate sooner than expected. That's your update from MLB News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story.