He's not called the favorite for rookie of the year for nothing. Prospect JJ Weatherholt (St. Louis Cardinals), who has Korean blood, made a defensive play that pushed Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) deeper into trouble.
Weatherholt started at second base and leadoff for the Cardinals in the March 3 game (Korean time) against the LA Dodgers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, in the 2026 Major League Baseball season. At the plate, he was silent with four at-bats that day.
But Weatherholt's true value showed up on defense. He completed two double plays. The top moment came in the top of the third. With Alex Freeland leading off, he reached on a bunt single, setting the table for Ohtani. Ohtani had been hitless in two consecutive games and was hitless in 11 consecutive plate appearances through his first plate appearance of the game. He had walked three times.
This time it looked like a hit. Facing Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy, with one strike, he pulled the second pitch, an outside changeup at 86.7 mph (139.5 km). The ball came off at 92.3 mph (148.5 km) — not a hard line drive but one that might have found a lane for a hit. But Weatherholt was in that spot. Positioned between first and second base, Weatherholt dove and made a diving catch. The liner became a grounder, and with an accurate throw he retired Freeland, who couldn't return to first, completing the double play. Ohtani failed to get a hit in his next two plate appearances as well, extending his hitless streak to three games.
He also turned a tricky grounder by Teoscar Hernández with one out and a runner on first in the top of the fourth into a double play. Positioned shaded toward second base, Weatherholt chased down a hard grounder at 98.8 mph (159 km) through the first-to-second lane and scooped it up. He came around and threw accurately to second, setting up the double play.
Japanese outlet Full-Count wrote on March 3 that during the golden holiday period people in Japan were also cheering for Ohtani, but on social media reactions of bewilderment and praise mixed toward the Cardinals' rising prospect who showed a different level of defense. It said the moment helped cement Weatherholt's name with fans. The outlet quoted reactions such as "a ninja lives among us," "he might win a Gold Glove," "he's the opponent but you have to praise him," and "he stole Ohtani's hit."
Weatherholt was a top prospect selected seventh overall in the first round of the 2024 rookie draft. Expectations were high: his signing bonus alone reached $6.8 million (1 billion won).
He started last year in Double-A and was promoted to Triple-A in August, then exploded with a .314 batting average (58 hits in 185 at-bats) with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, 9 stolen bases and an OPS of .978 in 47 games, earning St. Louis minor league player of the year honors. Ranked fifth overall and first on the team in MLB Pipeline's prospect rankings, Weatherholt was named the top National League rookie candidate in an MLB.com poll of club officials in January, receiving 30.2% of the vote. He graduated the minor league ranks in a year and a half and opened this season in the big leagues.
There are National League rookie of the year candidates such as Connor Griffin (Pittsburgh Pirates), Sal Stewart (Cincinnati Reds), and Nolan McLean (New York Mets), but Weatherholt's all-around contributions on offense, defense and the basepaths stand out. He is also well known as a Korean American player with Korean blood. Weatherholt's grandmother was Korean and moved to the United States after marrying a U.S. grandfather stationed in Korea. He is currently hitting .238 (30 hits in 126 at-bats) with 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, 27 runs scored and an OPS of .799 in 33 games. By FanGraphs WAR he ranks first among National League rookies with a 1.5 WAR.
He hoped to play for Korea at this year's World Baseball Classic, but he did not meet the eligibility requirements. Weatherholt said at the time, "Unfortunately I am not eligible to be Korean. To be a Korean player one of your parents has to have Korean nationality, and only my grandmother does," and jokingly added, "My father would have to go through the process to obtain Korean nationality," expressing his regret.
He added, "Becoming part of the Korean national team was a dream. I wanted to play for my elderly grandmother. I thought it would mean a lot to her, but unfortunately I couldn't do that," repeating his disappointment.
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