Paul DeJong (original) (raw)

Paul Sterling DeJong (born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017. A native of Orlando, Florida, DeJong attended and played college baseball at Illinois State University (ISU). He was selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2015 MLB draft. In 2017, his rookie season, he led National League (NL) shortstops in home runs with 25. He was the club's starting shortstop for the subsequent seasons until he began struggling offensively during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He lost his starting spot and was demoted to Triple-A in early May 2022 before being recalled that July.