Nolan Gorman DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (illness) is out of the team's Grapefruit League lineup on Friday due to an illness, according to manager Oliver Marmol. Hopefully, Gorman will be feeling good enough in a day or two to get his final spring at-bats in before starting the regular season next Thursday. Heading into Friday's games, the 24-year-old infielder is hitting just .196 (9-for-46) with a homer, three doubles, two RBI, and 12 strikeouts in 16 Grapefruit League contests. Still, Gorman is fully expected to be the Cardinals' primary second baseman in 2025, at least on the strong side of a platoon against right-handed pitching. It was a rough 2024 campaign for Gorman, as he hit just .203/.271/.400 with 19 home runs, 50 RBI, six stolen bases and a 37.6% strikeout rate in 107 games. He was optioned to the minors in August and never returned to the big leagues. He still has power, but he's merely a middle-infield option in deep-mixed fantasy leagues.

As the St. Louis Cardinals transition this offseason, they are focused on letting most of their youngers players play regularly in order to evaluate their roster for the coming seasons. Infielder Nolan Gorman is one such young player set to play regularly in 2025, and the Cardinals would like to see him get close to 600 at-bats next year, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak. In addition to Gorman, outfielder Jordan Walker should have a bigger role without the threat of being sent back to the minors. Other young players that should have key roles include Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Pedro Pages and Ivan Herrera. Gorman, the 19th overall pick in 2018, regressed in 2024, hitting .203/.271/.400 with a career-low .671 OPS, 19 home runs, 50 RBI and six steals in 107 games. The 24-year-old spent the final five weeks in the minors but should have an everyday role, either at second or third, in 2025.

The St. Louis Cardinals optioned infielder Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday and recalled infielder Jose Fermin from Memphis in a corresponding move. The last straw for the Cardinals came on Tuesday night, when Gorman went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting infielder has clubbed 19 home runs in 107 games on the year, but he's also hitting just .203 (74-for-365) and has fanned a career-high 151 times and walked only 34 times in 402 plate appearances. His OPS sat at an impressive .805 last year, but it has dipped to .671 in 2024. Gorman will most likely return when rosters expand in September, but for now, he'll head to the farm to work on making more contact at the plate. Brendan Donovan is starting at second on Wednesday and batting cleanup against Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Tobias Myers, and he should see most of the starts at the keystone now.