CIN
Nolan Gorman, IF
Edit player ✎
Baseball Reference →
FanGraphs →
MLB →
Scouting report
There's no change to Gorman's report, as he was at the alt site all year, but the Arenado trade complicates his defensive future, which I'll address toward the end: By torching the Appy League during his first pro summer, Gorman laid to rest any concerns that his whiff-prone pre-draft spring was anything more than a hiccup caused by the whiplash of going from facing elite, showcase high schoolers (who he crushed) to soft-tossing, Arizona varsity pitchers. He struck out a lot (again) during the 2018 stretch run, when St. Louis pushed him to Low-A Peoria because he wasn't being challenged in Johnson City. Sent back to Peoria for the first half of 2019, Gorman adjusted to full-season pitching and roasted the Midwest League to the tune of a .241/.344/.448 line, cutting his strikeout rate by eight percentage points. He was promoted to the Florida State League for the second half, and while his walk rate halved and his strikeout rate crept above 30% again, Gorman still managed to post an above-average line for that league as a 19-year-old. His strikeout issues will only become a real concern for me once Gorman stops showing an ability to adjust over a long period of time. His huge power, derived from his imposing physicality and explosive hand speed, is likely to play in games because of the lift in Gorman's swing and his feel for impacting the ball in the air. Because we're talking about a teenager of considerable size, there's a chance he has to move off of third base at some point, and now that Nolan Arenado is in town, St. Louis will see how Gorman looks at second and in left field. I bet he'll be able to make routine plays on balls hit to him at the keystone, but I have no idea what he'll look like operating around the bag. There are apt body comps to be made to either of the Seager brothers, while the offensive profile looks more like Miguel Sanó's. (Alternate site)