Welcome to Church: Rookie outfielder making case he belongs 

If you’re a little late getting in on Nathan Church, don’t worry, there’s still room in the pews.

While all eyes have been on the rise of fellow rookie JJ Wetherholt, Church has been just as difficult to overlook. And if he keeps this up, it’s becoming hard to picture the Cardinals’ outfield without him in it.

With Lars Nootbaar expected to be back in less than a month, Church is beginning to force a bigger conversation about where he fits in long-term conversations. It did not look like it would unfold that way early in the season.

Following an electric Opening Day performance where Church went 3-for-4 and made a leaping catch at the wall, the 25-year-old went hitless in his next 23 plate appearances. He looked overmatched by big league pitching, similar to his 27-game stint in 2025 when he batted just .179 with 18 strikeouts in 56 at-bats. But since then, he’s caught fire.

Over Church’s last 15 games, he’s slashed .326/.367/.628 with four home runs and nine RBIs, stepping up in a big way for a Cardinals lineup that has been looking for consistency from the bottom of their order.

Among all National League rookies, Church ranks fifth in home runs (5), seventh in runs scored (12), ninth in slugging percentage (.479), and 12th in on-base plus slugging (.774). Church and Wetherholt are just the sixth pair of rookie teammates to both have five or more home runs before the end of April (the first since San Diego’s Christian Villanueva, eight, and Franchy Cordero, six, in 2018), with Wetherholt slugging his sixth of the year during the Cardinals’ ninth-inning comeback over the Pirates on Monday.

Known mostly for his glove while coming up through the farm system, Church has shown that high-talent ability while holding down left field. He robbed a home run over the weekend, and has used his plus arm to keep runners honest on the basepaths. Like Wetherholt, Church’s defense raises his floor as a contributor, knowing that he can impact the game even if his bat is cold.

With Nootbaar working his way back from the 60-day injured list and the outfield picture set to shift, Church’s emergence is beginning to complicate what once looked like a straightforward alignment.

Victor Scott II, the incumbent center fielder, has struggled out of the gates for St. Louis, slashing .191/.243/.206 with one extra base hit and three stolen bases in his five attempts. The Cardinals were high on Scott coming into the season, but Church is making it increasingly difficult to justify taking his bat out of the lineup, even if that means a potential shift in center field.

The Cardinals don’t have to make that decision today. But if Church continues to produce, it’s a conversation that won’t go away.

In the meantime, Church will continue to get a consistent run in left field, and there are some elements of his game that he can still clean up. Church is striking out 24.4% of the time this season, compared to 10.5% while in Triple-A last year. And his walk rate (5.1%) has been cut almost in half. His power output is unlikely to sustain at this current rate, but he can make up for potential regression by improving his plate discipline and bat-to-ball skills.

It is worth noting that Church’s bat speed is up from 69 mph last season to 71.4 mph in the early going. Gains in bat speed can be an indicator of increased power potential, so maybe Church’s power surge has more truth to it than his previous track record would indicate.

In the bigger picture, Church is unlikely to surpass Wetherholt as the star of the show this season. But it sure is encouraging for a team in transition to have two standout rookies in the early going.