Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn Are Wild MLB Defensive Outlier

The St. Louis Cardinals have the best defensive middle infield in baseball by a wide margin.

Sep 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) takes ground balls before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One thing that is true about the 2026 St. Louis Cardinals is that they can play some top-tier defense, to say the least.

St. Louis has the third-most defensive outs above average, led by rookie phenom JJ Wetherholt. The young second baseman is actually in second place in baseball overall with 24 outs above average himself, just two behind Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong.

That's the elite of the elite. And Wetherholt isn't the only star defender in St. Louis. Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn is in fifth place in baseball in outs above average with 18. It's absurd what these two have been able to do in the middle infield. So much so that the club shared on Wednesday that the middle infield of Wetherholt and Winn leads the league with a 42 Fielding Run Value, which is more than double the closest team to St. Louis, which is the Chicago Cubs with 19. Cardinals team reporter Dani Wexelman shared the news on X.

"Per Cardinals PR: Overall, the 2026 Cardinals Middle Infield boasts a 42 Fielding Run Value according to Baseball Savant, which more than doubles the next closest teams this season, the Cubs (19) and White Sox (19)," Wexelman wrote on X.

The Cardinals' Infield Is Stacked

Sep 19, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) throws to first for an out against Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (5) during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defense is important, obviously. And the Cardinals have the best defensive second baseman and shortstop in the National League this season. Wetherholt and Winn are both just 24 years old. This is the type of production they could put together for years to come. Winn won the first Gold Glove Award of his career last season and he certainly has a chance at another this season. Winn is leading all National League shortstops in outs above average with Dansby Swanson of the Cubs the closest to him with 12.

Wetherholt seemingly is a lock. He easily has the most outs above average by any National League second baseman. Brandon Lowe of the Pittsburgh Pirates has the second-highest mark with 14.

With these two in the middle of the infield for years to come, one thing the Cardinals don't even need to think about is defense in the middle. They have two of the game's best, to say the least. The Cardinals have work they need to do this winter, but there's a lot to be excited about in St. Louis. If the Cardinals can get some more veteran pitching, we could be talking about a playoff team next year.