Nolan Gorman

Position: 3B
Level: Rk
Affiliate: Johnson City Cardinals
League: Appalachian League
Born: 05/10/2000 (Age: 23)
Height: 6'1
Weight: 210
B/T: Left / Right
Acquired: 1st Rd. (#19 overall), 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft (STL)

Prospect Spotlight

The book on Gorman entering the 2018 draft was power. So far as a professional, Gorman hasn’t disappointed. The Cardinals gave the teenage power hitter an aggressive assignment to start his career by skipping him over the Gulf Coast League, and he has responded by posting a .943 OPS his first 28 games.

Gorman is already close to physically mature, with a large and muscular frame that has grown into some man strength. At the plate, he has a short and compact stroke that gets longer against soft stuff.  He’s aggressive, hunting fastballs early in the count he looks to drive with plus batspeed. Gorman hits with a plan and works counts. That said, pitch recognition and contact versus off-speed are both works in progress. He’s out on the front foot against good secondary stuff away and is prone to expand the zone against spin. An average athlete, he projects as a passable defender at third base but will have to put work in to stay there. His bat-first profile is much less valuable if he moves down the defensive spectrum to first base.

Overall, there is a lot to like with Gorman, who projects to improve his pitch ID with pro reps. The size, strength, and left-handed raw power give him 25+ homerun potential, but he will need to shore up his ability to make contact against non-fastballs. The ceiling is an above-average everyday player if he can tap into his power and stay at the hot corner.