PITTSBURGH — Growing up a half hour from PNC Park, JJ Wetherholt spent ample time accumulating memories at the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
There was a birthday party for Wetherholt as a child at what is widely accepted as one of Major League Baseball’s top stadiums.
“They put my name up on the scoreboard. I remember that,” Wetherholt says while seated inside the visiting dugout. “It was actually pretty funny, because we couldn’t find parking. My buddy’s dad who took us here tried to park at the casino and they wouldn’t let us walk through because we were like 10 years old. I was late to my birthday party basically, but was able to see my name on the scoreboard.”
A native of nearby Mars, Pa., Wetherholt grew up a fan of the Pirates and isn’t short on memories inside PNC Park, including a 3-0 mark at the venue in the Backyard Brawl against Pittsburgh during his playing days at West Virginia, though Wetherholt missed the 2023 matchup due to a hand injury.
After Monday night, it’s safe to say the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie second baseman has a new favorite memory — and it came at the expense of his favorite childhood team.
With the Cardinals trailing the Pirates 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning, Wetherholt blasted a full-count offering from Dennis Santana well beyond the right field wall for a tying home run.
It was the second of back-to-back long balls after one from teammate Pedro Pagés had gotten St. Louis on the scoreboard, and also part of a stretch where six consecutive St. Louis batters reached base as the Cardinals rallied with a four-run ninth to win the first of a four-game series, 4-2.
“It’s crazy. It’s kind of a goofy experience, but it’s such a honor to be here, and playing against the team you grew up cheering for will always kind of hold a special place in your heart,” Wetherholt said. “Just excited for it.”
JJ Wetherholt GAME-TYING homer in the 9th!
He’s hit a home run in three straight games 👏 pic.twitter.com/tlWdEDCZHc
— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2026
Wetherholt has homered in three straight games, is second on St. Louis with six home runs this season and the latest one was critical in helping the Cardinals snap a four-game losing streak.
“Personality wise, everybody loves him,” says Cardinals’ centerfielder Victor Scott, a collegiate teammate of Wetherholt’s as well during the 2022 season at WVU. “It’s hard not to love that guy. He’s a very infectious kid to be around and just an awesome dude. He’s been stellar on defense and doing some stuff I kind of saw him do at West Virginia with the home runs. It’s pretty special. The other day he hit a homer, and I told him, ‘that’s what I was seeing at West Virginia.’ I’m definitely glad he’s getting comfortable and being able to release that barrel like he’s always done.”
The early returns on what is expected to be a lengthy and successful MLB career have been relatively positive for Wetherholt. Across his first 28 games and 105 at bats, Wetherholt is hitting .238 with 14 RBI and a .788 OPS.
He hit a home run in his MLB debut and second plate appearance back on March 26 in a 9-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Wetherholt was without a home run over his next 15 games until belting two during an extra-inning win against the Cleveland Guardians. He’s struck out 23 times and walked 15, though after a stretch of eight strikeouts in four games and 15 at bats, Wetherholt has gone four straight games and 18 at bats without one.
“It’s been a ton of fun,” Wetherholt said. “Trying to take it all in, be appreciative of the new ballparks that we play in and the big league treatment, see how awesome it is.
“Of course on the field, continuing to try to take better at bats, get more comfortable out there learning and grow, take it day by day and continue to get better.”
That’s precisely what Wetherholt, undrafted and hardly a blue chip prospect out of Mars Area High School, did across three seasons as a Mountaineer.
He was a significant contributor as a freshman in 2022 and a first-team All-American and the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2023 with a .449 batting average. While Wetherholt’s production dipped some the following season as he battled injury that limited him to 36 games, he had shown plenty to be chosen seventh in the 2024 MLB Draft by St. Louis.
“I had a really breakout year my sophomore year,” Wetherholt recalled. “The development I got there, just getting better and learning more, and all the resources they had that helped me grow. A lot of it was from a physical standpoint and I just got a lot stronger and got some more tools. I needed to go to college. It was great for me. I was able to develop there and was able to build a career out of it.”
Had then-WVU assistant and current head coach Steve Sabins not traveled to Philippi to watch Wetherholt play a summer league game after his sophomore year in high school, it’s entirely possible the highest draft pick in the history of West Virginia baseball would have never spent time in Morgantown.
“He was the guy who recruited me,” Wetherholt said. “It was kind of a cool story. He came all the way to Alderson Broaddus, a little D-II school in West Virginia. I ended up showing up late to the game, because my mom thought it got rained out, but it did not. He came all the way there to watch me and I got in late, but played a good game in front of him. He’s the one who offered me. That guy has been so helpful in my career and he’s really building a great program. It’ll be cool to see him.”
JJ Wetherholt shares a moment pregame with WVU baseball coach Steve Sabins and son Tucker Sabins. pic.twitter.com/qw1sShzCjE
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) April 27, 2026
After excelling for two years across three levels in the minor leagues, Wetherholt made St. Louis’ opening day roster and entered the season with strong expectations, having been enlisted MLB’s No. 7 prospect by ESPN in January.
He was on the short list of favorites for National League Rookie of the Year, and thus far, has lived up to that billing.
“You see all that type of stuff regardless of it’s in the big leagues, college or minor league ball,” Wetherholt said. “Of course, the stage here can be a little bit different, but you kind of just try to focus on being a better player and winning games for your team.”
Developing a better understanding of how to hit big-league pitching isn’t Wetherholt’s only adjustment at this level. He has a .983 fielding percentage with two errors and continues to gain comfortability at second base after spending the majority of his college career and time in the minors at shortstop.
With 24-year-old Masyn Wynn of the Cardinals among the top defensive shortstops in all of MLB, Wetherholt has permanently shifted to second.
“It’s been a ton of fun working each and every day,” Wetherholt said. “A ton of people have helped me all throughout the organization and I’m working with [Cardinals first base coach] Stubby [Clapp] constantly. We go back every game to just look at positioning, things I could’ve done better and things I did well. Trying to learn as much as possible from him.
“When you have a guy like Masyn at shortstop, he can kind of take you under his wing. Ramon Urias has been huge, too, helping me. So many guys have helped pour into me and I’m continuing to go out and work each and every day just trying to get better.”
Monday’s magic undoubtedly moved to the top of Wetherholt’s list of moments at PNC Park and that it came before a large contingent of family and friends, as well as WVU coaches and players, only added to the significance.
“Spending time with my family has been great so far,” Wetherholt said, “and hopefully we can get some wins, play good baseball and enjoy the trip.”