If you consider yourself an experienced player of the royal league, you should not ask yourself “Who is this Nolan Gorman fellow of St. Louis Cardinals?”
But if you’re a new dynasty baseball player, then you might be wondering about Gorman as he’s gone down a path that many baseball fans are aware of.
A left-handed hitter, Gorman was listed as one of the top 100 prospects by Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus in 2019. At the start of the 2022 season, he was ranked 34th by BA, 33rd by MLB, and 28th by BP.
Gorman broke out with the Cardinals in 2022, appearing in 89 games for the Redbirds, and was a regular on the team’s roster last season as he played in 119 games. The second baseman is now in his third season with the Cardinals, so why do I consider him a player of the next generation?
Let’s find out.
| A YEAR | G | R | HR | The RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 89 | 44 | 14 | 35 | 1 | .226 | .300 | .420 |
| 2023 | 119 | 59 | 27 | 76 | 7 | .236 | .328 | .478 |
| 2024 | 55 | 29 | 14 | 31 | 2 | .230 | .316 | .492 |
| 7 days ago | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 | .296 | .367 | .741 |
| 14 days ago | 12 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1 | .304 | .360 | .717 |
| Last 28 days | 21 | 21 | 10 | 19 | 2 | .320 | .407 | .760 |
If you look at the stats above, you can probably see where Gorman’s strength as a baseball player lies – and that’s his strength. Entering the 2018 draft, Gorman was known for his power and the Cardinals selected him with the 21st overall pick.
Nolan Gorman quickly signed with the Cardinals and wasted little time showing that potential. In 63 games as a rookie and in Class A, Gorman hit 17 homers and has been sending baseballs over the fence ever since.
Tools
Nolan Gorman won’t be chasing the Triple Crown anytime soon. He hit .226 in his rookie season, upped that to .236 last season, and entered Friday hitting .230. And advanced metrics won’t leave you thinking you’re out of luck. His xBA ranks in the 38th percentile this season and was in the 25th percentile last year.
Gorman will struggle to become a consistent .250 hitter or better if he doesn’t reduce his tendency to strike out. Over the past three seasons, his K% has been 32.9, 31.9, and 34.4%. Overall, his career strikeout rate is 32.8% compared to the MLB average of 22.5%. And his Whiff% didn’t improve, coming in at 34.5, 35.5 and 38.4%. The mark this season is calculated at 2 percent.
Interestingly, Gorman understands the strike zone well. His 10.6% walk rate is 2.2% higher than the MLB average. This season his walk rate stands at 11.2% after entering at 11.4% last year. If Gorman can just learn to communicate, his batting average and OBP will rise to respectable levels. Over the past 28 days, he has been more than respectable at the plate, hitting .320 with a .407 OBP. But his strikeout rate remains north of 30% during this hot streak.
Past history says it will heal. But it shows that he has the ability to hit for average.
As I said above, Nolan Gorman’s best tool is his power – just ask Justin Verlander after this blast or Kyle Nelson after this blast. That’s why you want him in your team, especially if you can live with a low batting average.
The MLB home run average is 3%. Through Friday, Gorman had a 5.5% home run rate, and it has increased each season he has played. As a rookie it was a good 4.5%. That rose to 5.8% last year and currently stands at 6.5%.
Obviously, because of the home runs, Gorman produces an outstanding slugging percentage. He batted .420 his rookie year and then improved to .478 last year and is now at .492. Although Gorman has seen a drop in his Average EV and Hard Hit% compared to last year, we’ve just entered June, leaving Gorman with plenty of time to increase those percentages.
There isn’t much to talk about when it comes to Gorman and speed. He actually doesn’t have one. His sprint speed percentile is 23% this year and 29% last year. He stole seven bases last year and has two more this season, but that means he’s on pace for six!
If you need speed and speed only, Gorman is not your man.
The decision
In the past week, Nolan Gorman has seen his subscription percentages increase by 15% on both Yahoo and ESPN. That’s not surprising considering the tears she’s been crying.
But surprisingly, last week he was listed in only 13 percent of ESPN leagues. That’s funny. Everyone wants to have as many three-tool players (average, power, steals) on their roster as possible. I get that.
But that’s impossible and Gorman’s attention is wrong. He hit 27 home runs last year in just 119 games. If he can stay on the field for 150 games, Gorman could easily reach 35 homers. Who wouldn’t want a player with that kind of energy on their team?
And that power comes from the second base position.
The middle second baseman in the majors hit 3 homers and drove in 12 runs with a slash line of .245/.309/.366. Gorman is sitting on 14 homers and 31 RBI with a .230/.316/.492 slash line. Among second basemen, he leads the majors in homers, is second in SLG and OPS, and ranks sixth in RBI. There is no reason to think that those power numbers will suddenly disappear this year or in the future.
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