Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt -- one of the top contenders for the National League Rookie of the Year Award -- was placed on the 10-day IL on Sunday with right wrist tendinitis.
The 23-year-old is slashing .242/.343/.370 (105 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 130 games this season.
Wetherholt broke camp with the big league club out of Spring Training and debuted as the No. 5 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Rather quickly, he’s established himself as one of the best all-around second basemen in the league. According to FanGraphs, Wetherholt has been worth 4.4 WAR, which ranks T-9th most in the Majors.
The majority of Wetherholt’s value stems from sublime defense. He’s accumulated +22 outs above average this season, third most among all MLB players behind only the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong. Only Crow-Armstrong has accrued more fielding run value than Wetherholt’s +21 mark.
Losing Wetherholt for any period of time is a tough blow for the Cardinals, who still have postseason aspirations. St. Louis (68-69) entered play on Sunday sitting 4 1/2 games behind the Padres and D-backs for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
In a corresponding move, the Cardinals recalled infielder César Prieto from Triple-A Memphis. Prieto went 2-for-31 in 12 games in a brief Major League stint earlier this season.