Cardinals' Nolan Gorman may be undergoing a drastic transformation at the plate

Nolan Gorman looked lost in the batter's box in 2024. The second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals was coming off of a 27-home run season as one of the few bright spots for a moribund 2023 squad, and he looked to be a fixture in the lineup for the next several seasons. But after a 2024 season that saw him hit only .203 with a .671 OPS and included a trip to Triple-A Memphis, worries surfaced about the former first-round pick's future.

Gorman's plate discipline and contact rate were particularly concerning. His contact percentage on balls in the strike zone was 70.7%. 75% is generally the lowest number that a player can stay at and maintain a major league career, and those players often possess elite power. His whiff rate, or the number of pitches he swung and missed at, was abysmal, at 38.7%, where the MLB average is around 23%. But in 2025, in an admittedly limited sample, Gorman has dramatically improved in each of these categories.

Gorman looks like a completely different hitter at the plate in 2025.

To this point in 2025, Gorman is 5 for 15 with two doubles and a home run, and his plate discipline stats suggest that there could be real progress under the hood. Gorman's in-zone contact percentage has risen to 84.2%, his chase rate is down to 22.2%, and his whiff percentage is only 24%.

The Cardinals' new hitting coach, Brant Brown, has focused on approaching each hitter individually based on his strengths and weaknesses, and it has been a rousing success to this point, as the Cardinals currently boast one of the top offenses in the major leagues. Gorman has missed over half of the season to this point after a stint on the injured list, so he hasn't had as much of an opportunity as most others to display his progress. That's especially true given his status as a reserve in 2025, playing behind a torrid bat in Brendan Donovan.

President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak originally said that he wanted Gorman to receive 600 at-bats in 2025 before backtracking on those comments and saying that Gorman would need to be patient in the first month of the season while other players found their footing. His approach was reasonable, especially after Gorman struggled mightily in spring training, But if Gorman continues to show a significantly improved eye at the plate and the ability to make consistent contact while not sacrificing his power, the Cardinals will need to find ways to squeeze him into the lineup more often.

If these numbers hold, Gorman could become a force in the heart of the batting order and provide game-changing power at a position that isn't known for its thump. We're only 10% of the way through the season, but if Gorman can contribute to the Cardinals' high-flying offense, 2025 could be unexpectedly special year in St. Louis.