Nolan Gorman

Nolan Gorman

24-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
St. Louis Cardinals
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Gorman hit 14 homers with a .720 OPS in 89 games as a rookie in 2022, and he took a step forward last season with 27 home runs, 76 RBI and a .236/.328/.478 line in 119 contests. He missed some time due to back issues and finished the season on the IL due to a hamstring strain, but he should be healthy by spring training. Gorman improved his walk rate to 11.5 percent and also cut his strikeout rate a tick, but his 31.9 percent figure is still unsightly. He made 75 starts at second base and 12 at third but is a subpar defender, which could line him up for more time at designated hitter (where he made 27 starts). Gorman appears to have settled in against big-league pitching despite the heavy swing-and-miss in his stroke, and he's done so with a sustainable .298 BABIP. He should open 2024 with a regular spot in the Cardinals' lineup and certainly has upside if he's able to make a bit more contact, though that shouldn't be the expectation since his issues with strikeouts have persisted through the minors.. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#179
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cardinals in March of 2024.
Sent to Triple-A
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 21, 2024
The Cardinals optioned Gorman to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
Gorman's strikeout rate on the season ballooned to 37.6 percent after he went 0-for-4 with three punchouts in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers. Strikeouts are nothing new for Gorman, but this season, they haven't been accompanied by much production, with the 24-year-old's OPS cratering to .671 after an .805 mark in 2023. With Gorman out of the picture, Brendan Donovan should see most of his playing time at second base moving forward.
Read More News
Batting Stats
Loading Batting Stats...
2024
2023
2022
2020
2024 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2023 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2022 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
2020 MLB Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
Sorare
Loading Batting Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
calculator icon
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Batting Game Log...
Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
10
16
8
5
19
20
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
7
5
6
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+5%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+12%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+5%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+9%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .707 222 28 8 29 1 .223 .306 .401
Since 2022vs Right .743 957 117 52 132 13 .222 .300 .443
2024vs Left .619 113 12 4 14 0 .200 .257 .362
2024vs Right .692 289 30 15 36 6 .204 .277 .415
2023vs Left .840 86 10 4 13 1 .260 .360 .479
2023vs Right .798 378 49 23 63 6 .231 .320 .477
2022vs Left .664 23 6 0 2 0 .211 .348 .316
2022vs Right .725 290 38 14 33 1 .227 .297 .428
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+3%
OPS on Road
2024
 
 
+30%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+24%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+15%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .726 572 62 28 86 9 .219 .299 .427
Since 2022Away .746 607 83 32 75 5 .225 .303 .443
2024Home .581 193 18 8 22 5 .163 .244 .337
2024Away .753 209 24 11 28 1 .238 .297 .456
2023Home .898 219 26 14 46 4 .274 .361 .537
2023Away .724 245 33 13 30 3 .204 .298 .426
2022Home .672 160 18 6 18 0 .212 .281 .390
2022Away .773 153 26 8 17 1 .241 .320 .453
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nolan Gorman compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.23
 
BB Rate
8.5%
 
K Rate
37.6%
 
BABIP
.279
 
ISO
.197
 
AVG
.203
 
OBP
.271
 
SLG
.400
 
OPS
.671
 
wOBA
.294
 
Exit Velocity
88.5 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
32.4%
 
Barrels/PA
9.0%
 
Expected BA
.213
 
Expected SLG
.445
 
Sprint Speed
20.9 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
32.4%
 
Line Drive %
18.5%
 
Fly Ball %
49.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
Loading Advanced Batting Stats...
Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
Loading Games Played by Position...
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Batted Ball Stats
Loading Batted Ball Stats...
Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nolan Gorman See More
All-Bust Fantasy Team: Position Players
14 days ago
Bo Bichette finished outside the top 50 at the shortstop position in 2024, missing half the year due to injury and falling well short of his usual standards when available.
The Z Files: What It Takes
63 days ago
Todd Zola provides some data to help you determine whether even Aaron Judge is capable of slugging your team into contention over the season's final stretch.
NL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
72 days ago
Another Washington outfield phenom is ready to make his long-awaited debut.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Blue Jays Nesting in Rogers Neighborhood
80 days ago
The Toronto Blue Jays and the red-hot Vladimir Guerrero Jr. top Todd Zola's weekly hitter rankings thanks to seven home games during the week of August 19-25.
Lineup Lowdown: National League
84 days ago
Adrian Del Castillo has hit the ground running after getting called up to replace the injured Gabriel Moreno, but how often will he play?
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Gorman was promoted for his MLB debut in May and had a solid rookie campaign for St. Louis with 14 home runs and a .720 OPS in 89 games. Strikeouts were an issue at times in the minors and that remained true at the big-league level with a 32.9 percent strikeout rate. His 9.0 percent walk rate and .194 ISO were solid, but he'll need to cut down on the swings and misses to have some staying power in the Cardinals' lineup. He's likely to open 2023 as a bench bat/utility player with Brendan Donovan the favorite to start at second base, but Gorman could also split playing time at designated hitter with Juan Yepez. Gorman could be the odd man out if St. Louis makes any infield/DH additions in free agency, so his fantasy outlook is limited at best to begin the campaign.
Gorman is coming off an indisputably good year in the upper levels of the minors, but he remains a tough player to value in dynasty leagues. His 26.7 K% at Double-A and 19.2 K% at Triple-A were his best rates to date above rookie ball, and his 129 wRC+ at Double-A was also his best full-season mark. Big raw power has always been the main selling point with Gorman, and he hit 25 home runs in 119 games (43 at Double-A, 76 at Triple-A) as a 21-year-old, so he is on schedule in the power department. He showed signs last season that he will probably make enough contact to be a big-league regular. However, we're still looking at a power-over-hit prospect, and given that his walk rates have typically been on the low end (6.8 BB% above Low-A) for someone with his power, he doesn't even comfortably project as a middle-of-the-order three-true outcomes type. The hope will be that he is a 30-plus homer bat who is a solid contributor in runs and RBI and isn't a batting average sinkhole, but players with that profile often take a year or two in the majors before they hit their stride. An injury to any number of players on the big-league roster could open up at-bats for Gorman, who is passable at second base and third base, and he could also get work at designated hitter. However, given the low batting average floor and lack of speed, he isn't a strong prospect to target in draft-and-hold leagues.
Gorman's mammoth raw power has been his calling card for a while, and it should get him to the big leagues. However, there are several reasons for skepticism regarding his hit tool. He will always run high K-rates, but to make matters worse, the best place to attack him is with fastballs up in the zone, which also happens to be where many young pitchers are being taught to attack hitters. Additionally, the left-handed hitter has a pull-heavy approach and figures to be shifted on with impunity in the big leagues. He is also a below-average runner, and given the warranted concerns about his hit tool, dynasty managers should be hoping for a three-category thumper who hits around .245. Unlike most high-strikeout mashers, Gorman may not be any more valuable in OBP leagues, given how aggressive he is at the dish. He was a standout at the alternate site and should spend the season at Double-A and Triple-A.
Gorman is who we thought he we thought he was. His 38-game run in the Appalachian League in 2018 threw some off the scent, but through a little over a season at Low-A and High-A, he is hitting .240 with 21 HR, a 30.9 K% and an 8.9 BB% in 619 PA. The power output may seem lower than expected -- he has at least 70-grade raw power. However, a below-average hit tool has held him back against full-season pitching. Gorman won't win any Gold Gloves at third base, but he should stick there. Speed is not a part of his game, so his bat needs to provide all of his fantasy value. A Joey Gallo type of outcome seemed feasible a year ago, but now a Franmil Reyes type of ceiling seems more apt, as Gallo at least had monster walk rates in the lower levels. Gorman won't turn 20 until May 10, so he is far from a lost cause, but he also doesn't look like a budding star.
Before the 2018 draft, Gorman was seen as the hitter with the most home run upside in the class (at least 70-grade power). There was also significant concern that he would strike out a lot against pitchers who could spin a quality breaking ball. The good and the bad proved true. Despite dealing with a minor wrist injury and being one of the youngest players in the class, his 17 home runs paced all draftees, while his 36.4 K% was the ninth-worst mark in the Midwest League (min. 100 PA). An underrated positive from his pro debut is that his defense at third base was good enough that evaluators now project him to stick there, which was an uncertainty before the draft. This puts slightly less pressure on his hit tool. Already one of the top power prospects in the minors, Gorman won't turn 19 until May, so he has plenty of time to cut down on the strikeouts. Realistic outcomes range from Josh Donaldson to Joey Gallo, depending where the strikeout rate settles.
More Fantasy News
Absent from lineup
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 14, 2024
Gorman is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Cincinnati, John Denton of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Back on bench vs. lefty
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 12, 2024
Gorman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Posts three hits in loss
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 10, 2024
Gorman went 3-for-4 in Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Royals.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Absent from starting nine again
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 5, 2024
Gorman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Playing time drying up
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
August 2, 2024
Gorman is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Gaining interest on trade market
2BSt. Louis Cardinals
November 21, 2023
Gorman, who ended the 2023 season sidelined by a hamstring injury, is drawing trade interest from other teams this winter, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Woo notes that the Cardinals "would prefer to hang on to" the 23-year-old slugger, but he could wind up being an attractive trade chip in their quest to secure a new starting pitcher or two. Gorman delivered an .805 OPS with 27 home runs and 76 RBI over 119 games this past season for St. Louis while showing improved defense at second base. He is under club control through 2028.
See All MLB Rumors