JJ Wetherholt’s first 2 games of Cardinals career have never been matched

The St. Louis Cardinals have a promising young slugger in shortstop JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt is having a stellar start to his 2026 season. In fact, his start is simply historic.

“JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals is the first player in MLB history with a home run in his first career game and a walkoff hit in his second,” the X account OptaSTATS reported.

The Cardinals are getting a big boost from their young prospect. Wetherholt is hitting at a .333 batting average so far this season, with four RBIs. St. Louis is 2-0 on the season, and looking to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

The Cardinals spent this offseason shipping off several of their veterans, including starting pitcher Sonny Gray. The team’s mindset was to start fresh with a core of young players. Wetherholt was one of those players, and is making his mark.

“He became just the second Cardinals player with a walk-off hit in his first or second MLB game in at least the divisional era (1969), joining Curt Ford (June 22, 1985),” MLB.com reported.

In just nine at-bats so far this season, the young shortstop has posted an OPS of .967. Wetherholt is impressing his manager.

“He’s not going to make much of any situation, and I love that about him,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He doesn’t scare, and his personality really lends itself well to do this for a long time. Some really good at-bats. That situation there, he stays within himself and does exactly what the game is calling for. It was perfect.”

St. Louis is coming off a 2025 season that saw the team struggle. The Cardinals finished fourth in the NL Central, and posted a losing record. Cardinals fans are hoping Wetherholt can help lead the team to success in 2026.

The Cardinals play Tampa Bay on Sunday at 2:15 ET.

The post JJ Wetherholt’s first 2 games of Cardinals career have never been matched appeared first on ClutchPoints.