I have a bonus column for you.
Let me start with this …
Move over, JJ Wetherholt?
No, he doesn’t have to move over. STL’s splendid rookie, the team’s starting second baseman, is off to an exciting start to his big-league career with the bat and the glove. He’s also a talented base runner.
And among 13 MLB leadoff men that have at least 100 plate appearances at the No. 1 lineup spot, JJ ranks 4th in both on-base percentage and wRC+. As a leadoff man Wetherholt is 27 percent above league average offensively. And he’ll only get better.
I’m using the “move over” framing for a reason.
Because Nathan Church is also a rookie.
That means two splendid rookies for the Cardinals … and not just one.
For those of you who may not know or otherwise recall this: Church is still officially classified as a rookie. The outfielder spent 27 games with the Cardinals last season, and had 65 plate appearances in his debut. That was enough for Church to lose his rookie status.
Church has been going bananas since April 7th, whipping up a .366 batting average, .404 on-base rate, .756 slugging percentage, 1.160 OPS and a wRC+ that makes him 112 percent better than league average over this time.
This blitz of offense has greatly improved Church’s rookie season numbers that now include a .507 slugging percentage, .818 OPS and a wRC+ that’s 25% above the league average.
Are Wetherholt and Church competing for the NL Rookie of the Year award? Well, not directly. But sure, they’re both in the mix. And the NL has an impressive collection of rookies.
Without listing any of the potential NL Rookie of the Year candidates in any particular, here’s a list of talented position players and pitchers. Call it the “Watch List.” And I’m sure things will evolve and change over the course of the season.
Hitters
Sal Stewart, Reds
JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals
Nathan Church, Cardinals
TJ Rumfield, Rockies
Justin Crawford, Phillies
Owen Caisse, Marlins
Jose Fernandez, Dbacks
Nick Yorke, Pirates
Konnor Griffin, Pirates
Moises Ballesteros, Cubs
Pitchers
Nolan McLean, SP, Mets
Rhett Lowder, SP, Reds
Foster Griffin, SP, Nationals
Andrew Painter, SP, Phillies
Caleb Kilian, reliever, Giants
Bradgley Rodriquez, reliever, Padres
Blake Tidwell, reliever, Giants
OK, now let’s take a look at where JJ and Nathan rank among NL rookie position players in assorted categories. FYI, there are 12 NL rookies with a minimum 50 plate appearances so far, so I’m limiting the list to 12. Subject to change, of course.
Batting avg: Church 4th at .269, Wetherholt 7th at .238
On-base pct: Wetherholt 3rd at .363, Church 7th at .311
Slugging: Church 3rd at .507, Wetherholt 5th at .406
OPS: Church 4th at .818, Wetherholt 5th at .769.
wRC+: Church 4th, Wetherholt 5th. Church is 25% above league average offensively with JJ right there at 23% above the average level.
Wins Above Replacement: Wetherholt 2nd at 1.1, Church 4th at (0.6.) One reason for that: Wetherholt has 50 more plate appearances than Church this season. Another reason? Wetherholt has established himself as an outstanding second baseman defensively.
Defense: Church is credited with two defensive runs saved. Oddly, Wetherholt has no defensive runs saved. But JJ has an edge with 4 Outs Above Average. (Church is neutral in OAA.) But Church has a very good arm, and over time I’d be surprised to see his range ratings stay the same instead of rising.
In Statcast Fielding Run Value the early grades are Wetherholt 4, Church 1. But again, Wetherholt has a lot more playing time than Church.
Playing time is another consideration. If Wetherholt remains healthy, he could end up leading the Cardinals in most games and plate appearances.
The way Church is hitting, there’s no way he’ll be sitting on the bench except for the occasional day off or platoon-split consideration. (Both Church and Wetherholt bat from the left side but JJ appears to be better vs. left-handed pitchers. But it’s early.)
When Lars Nootbaar returns from the IL, presumably he’ll receive much (or most?) of the playing time in left field. How would that impact Church? Well, as long as his bat is an asset, and he’s healthy, I can’t imagine a scenario that would have Victor Scott II starting in center field over Church. Unless, of course, the Cardinals have completely lost their minds.
The two Cards teammates are tied for second among NL rookies with five homers. And they are tied for 4th with 13 RBIs. Because he’s played a lot more than Church, JJ has a big edge in walks and runs scored.
For a rebuilding Cardinals team, it’s certainly a positive development to have two breakout rookies in the starting lineup.
Thanks for reading …
–Bernie
Bernie was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. During a St. Louis sports-media career that goes back to 1985, he’s won multiple national awards for column writing and sports-talk hosting – and was the lead sports columnist at the Post-Dispatch from 1989 through 2015. Before that Bernie spent a year at the Dallas Morning News, covering the Dallas Cowboys during Tom Landry’s final season (1988) plus the sale of the team to Jerry Jones and the hiring of Jimmy Johnson as coach. Bernie has covered several Baseball Hall of Fame managers during his media career including Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog, Earl Weaver, Joe Torre and (as an interim) Red Schoendienst. In his career as a beatwriter and columnist, Bernie covered Pro Football Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil on a daily basis.
Bernie has covered and written about many great St. Louis sports team athletes including Albert Pujols, Kurt Warner, Brett Hull, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Jim Edmonds, Marshall Faulk, Scott Rolen, Mark McGwire, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Al MacInnis, Brian Sutter, Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Dan Dierdorf, Jackie Smith and Aeneas Williams. Bernie covered every baseball Cardinals’ postseason game from 1996 through 2014 and was there to chronicle teams that won four NL pennants and two World Series. He provided extensive coverage on the “Greatest Show” St. Louis Rams and has written extensively on the St. Louis Blues, Saint Louis U, and Mizzou football and basketball. Bernie was/is a longtime voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Heisman Trophy and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
You can access his columns, videos and the podcast version of the videos here on STL Sports Central, catch him regularly on KMOX (AM or FM) as part of the Gashouse Gang, Sports Rush Hour, Sports Open Line or Sports On a Sunday Morning shows. And you can catch weekly “reunion” segments here at STL Sports Central featuring Bernie and his longtime friend Randy Karraker.