It’s all but a foregone conclusion that JJ Wetherholt will break camp with the St. Louis Cardinals and be a part of the Opening Day roster, but where should his place in the lineup be? The team has had him in the leadoff position several times this Spring, but should he stay there? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
There were many interesting responses when I asked this question of our Viva El Birdos community. The opinions seem to be split with some concerned about the extra pressure on a leadoff
man in addition to the already heavy weight of a young player trying to become established as a major league regular. As was mentioned in our Feed question, if you look at JJ’s background, he has batted almost exclusively in the top 3 in the lineup from his time at West Virginia moving forward. It’s also worth noting that Wetherholt was frequently the leadoff man at Triple A Memphis after his promotion to that level on July 7, 2025. He responded by hammering 5 leadoff home runs the remainder of last season.
The other school of thought is to have Masyn Winn start the season atop the lineup and allow JJ Wetherholt to get comfortable and “earn” his way into the leadoff role. I can understand the potential wisdom in that, but Masyn Winn has not done well at leadoff. He only had an on-base percentage of .290 when batting leadoff for St. Louis. For the sake of comparison, JJ Wetherholt has a strong OBP of .421 at the top of a lineup.
The concern about having JJ Wetherholt in the leadoff role is the question of what to do if he struggles. I think this is one area where the St. Louis Cardinals approach to the 2026 season would benefit him as the team says player and future roster development is the priority. The Cardinals can afford to commit to allowing JJ Wetherholt to be at the top of the lineup. I also don’t get the impression that pressure is something that will cause a problem for JJ. He does not impress me as the type of personality who will wilt when faced with adversity. He also has displayed the ability to make smart adjustments as he has advanced through the Cardinals system.
You also have to ask what other options the St. Louis Cardinals have that would make sense in the leadoff role. I’ve heard some say that Lars Nootbaar when healthy could bat leadoff, but his OBP is lower than JJ’s at .341. Victor Scott II would seem to be a good fit because of his elite speed, but his OPB of just .283 won’t cut it. I cannot come up with a better option for anyone at the top of the St. Louis Cardinals lineup than JJ Wetherholt. He seems comfortable with the role so why not commit to him batting leadoff and allow him to settle into the role as the St. Louis Cardinals figure out who else will be a part of the core group of players moving forward?
