Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Slugger Due For Offensive Explosion After Enduring Rigorous Offseason

The former St. Louis top prospect is waiting for his time to shine
Nate Hagerty|
Aug 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second base Nolan Gorman (16) at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images
Aug 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second base Nolan Gorman (16) at bat against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images | Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals' offense is thriving after hiring former Los Angeles Dodgers assistant hitting coach Brant Brown over the offseason.

Not only are the Cardinals sitting at first place in the National League Central with a 4-2 record but they're among the league's best offensively -- ranking third in OPS (.879) and batting average (.298), and fourth in runs scored (42), hits (64) and home runs (11).

Brown's influence has produced a significant turnaround for St. Louis' offense compared to where it was last year. Hopefully, the brutal offseason he endured with a young Cardinals slugger will help the former top prospect seize his full potential in 2025.

"Talking this offseason, I had him (Nolan Gorman) come over the house, kind of showed him who he was as a hitter, his expectations -- bucketed that together and we got to work," Brown told KMOV's Tamar Sher ahead of the Cardinals' 12-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. "We worked a lot because he lives right down the street. Whether it was at (unintelligible) or at his house, we hit almost every single day. We tried to challenge him in his work."

Gorman hasn't seen much playing time in 2025 after the Cardinals failed to trade superstar Nolan Arenado this past offseason -- splitting playing time between second base, third base and seeing plate appearances as a designated hitter.

The 24-year-old possesses tremendous power but has struggled to remain consistent. Gorman was demoted in Aug. 2024 to Triple-A Memphis after struggling mightily at the plate.

The former Cardinals first-round draft pick is off to a hot start with what little playing time he's recorded this year -- batting .500 with four hits including one home run, a double and a 1.556 OPS in eight at-bats across two games played for St. Louis.

Considering that Gorman logged a .203/.271/.400 slash line with 151 strikeouts in 107 games played for the Cardinals last year, it's encouraging to see him confident at the plate this season.

The Arizona native is long overdue for a dominant campaign after smashing 14 and 27 home runs in his first two seasons with St. Louis (2022 and 2023). Perhaps Gorman's grueling work with Brown over the winter will soon pay off big time.

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Nate Hagerty
NATE HAGERTY

Nate Hagerty joined “Inside The Cardinals” as a content creator to spread knowledge about his favorite childhood team. A hometown native of Boston, Hagerty chose at an early age of six years old to follow the St. Louis Cardinals. The miraculous season of 04’ for the Red Sox did not deter Hagerty from rooting against his hometown team, nor did it in 2013 against the Red Birds. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu 

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