Wetherholt sitting on Thursday afternoon

It’s new news that Winn has a fracture. The Cardinals figure to play JJ Wetherholt at shortstop for now. Nolan Gorman was recalled to replace Winn, but he didn’t play any second base in the minors, suggesting that he’ll remain limited to third base. That’s probably bad news for Blaze Jordan. Bryan Torres, José Fermin and Ramón Urías figure to see time at second base.

Winn has missed the last four games with a thumb injury, so the team can backdate the IL stint. JJ Wetherholt will continue to serve as the regular shortstop, with Ramon Urias and Nolan Gorman potentially forming a platoon at second base until Winn returns.

Wetherholt is up to 14 steals this season to go along with 17 homers. He also has 87 runs compared to just 48 RBI. That makes sense for a leadoff hitter, but these counting-stat differences can go unnoticed in fantasy. While his rookie season has been a success thanks to on-base ability and defense at second base, his fantasy campaign has been defined by hitting leadoff for the Cardinals all year. Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker are tied for second in MLB with 96 RBI each, boosting Wetherholt’s runs. He’ll need to work on his slugging output to make a sophomore jump in 2027.

Wetherholt’s home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado in the eighth inning. Wetherholt’s home run was his sixth against left-handed pitching this year. He’s hitting .243 with a .723 OPS and 47 RBI.

There hasn’t been any reporting to indicate that Winn is dealing with any physical issues, as the Cardinals continue rolling with JJ Wetherholt at shortstop with José Fermín at second base in this one.

Wetherholt hadn’t struck out more than twice in a game this year until tonight. His one ball in play was well struck — it was a 375-foot barrel to center — but it was handled easily by Justin Crawford. Wetherholt is hitting .181/.330/.236 this month, lowering his OPS from .741 to .714.

Wetherholt is back at shortstop and leading off after sitting out the front-end of Monday’s twin bill at Great American Ball Park. The 23-year-old rookie sensation has struggled since last month’s All-Star break, hitting just .185 (20-for-108) with three homers and four steals in 29 games during that span. His return pushes electrifying top prospect Joshua Báez back to the fifth spot in the order for the nightcap affair.

Báez, who hit fifth in his first two major league games, figures to return to the middle of the order for the nightcap.

Wetherholt hasn’t had a ton of chances to drive in runs from the leadoff spot, but including Wednesday’s in a 3-1 win over the Yankees, he’s come up with a pair of big two-run doubles in the last five days. The Rookie of the Year candidate is batting .249/.353/.387 with 16 homers and 45 RBI on the season. It’s quite possible we’ll end the year with Wetherholt and Sal Stewart as the NL ROY favorites. Wetherholt could potentially double Stewart’s WAR and Stewart could potentially double Wetherholt’s RBI total.

The Cardinals beat the Yankees 3-1 on Wednesday with all three runs coming in the fifth inning and JJ Wetherholt was in the middle of all of it. Wetherholt’s two-run double off Yankees starter Will Warren gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead before he came around to score on Ivan Herrera’s double to make it 3-0. Wetherholt is hitting .248 with a .739 OPS and 43 RBI on the year.