His chase rate on pitches outside the zone has improved from 31.1% to 23.9% and when pitchers make a mistake, he's pouncing: 11 of his 13 home runs have come on pitches in the middle of the strike zone. You've got to get a good pitch to hit, and everyone is trying to do that when they're in the box." The mantra you're going to hear throughout this piece is one Gorman himself repeated after Saturday's home run: "Obviously, that's the name of the game. Gorman has always had the raw power and a power hitter's swing, but even as he moved quickly through the minors, poor strikeout-to-walk ratios limited his upside: 152-to-45 in High-A in 2019, 115-to-38 between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021, 103-to-28 in the majors as a rookie. View the bat slam as a message: He wants to play every day, and it appears as if he's going to get the opportunity. It was just the second home run in his career off a left-handed pitcher: The first had come two nights earlier off fellow Dodger Julio Urias. Louis, with the game tied 3-3 in the eighth, Gorman faced Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Victor Gonzalez and reached down in the zone to line a 94-mph fastball over the wall in right field for a three-run home run - and then slammed his bat into the ground as he ran up the first-base line. Gorman was demoted back to Triple-A last September as he struggled to hit high fastballs.Ģ023. 226/.300/.421 with 14 home runs in 89 games, as the Cardinals moved him off his natural position of third base to second base with Nolan Arenado entrenched at third. He hit 25 home runs in the minors in 2021 and debuted with the Cardinals in 2022, hitting. 18 (2022)īackground: The best high school power-hitting prospect in 2018, Gorman somewhat surprisingly fell to 19th in the draft. Showing early success Nolan Gorman, 2B/DH, St. We'll separate them into two groups: those showing signs of success so far and those we're still unsure about. Let's check in on some former top position player prospects who are no longer rookies but are still early in their careers and looking to break out in 2023. What we don't know is the path of some other recent top prospects who weren't firing on all cylinders immediately.Ĭall it the post-hype update. Both Rookies of the Year are struggling in 2023, though we know they can do it because - well, they've already done it. It worked that way for Julio Rodriguez and Michael Harris II last season, but that's not the usual path. Yet, we expect every top prospect - who are sometimes still just teenagers when they debut - to come out of the gate as rookies and turn into instant stars. Though this season has brought increases in batting average and hits due to MLB's new rules, as the great Ted Williams once said, "Hitting is 50% above the shoulders." Hitting in the major leagues has never been more difficult. MLB, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, St. Post-hype check-in: What to make of prospects you gave up on You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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