3 ways Nolan Gorman emerging as the Cardinals' third bat transforms their lineup

Nolan Gorman is hitting like one of the best sluggers in baseball

This may seem like an obvious point, and the next two will get into some more nuances that also take this lineup to the next level, but the fact that the Cardinals' third bat is slugging like an All-Star means good things for this lineup.

Credit to @CardinalsReek on Twitter, as he pointed out that Gorman ranks second in the National League among qualified (which includes 98 players) in wOBA (.484), wRC+ (201), OPS (1.186), fourth in WAR (0.6), eleventh in EV (93.5) and thirteenth in BB% (17.9%).

Translation: Gorman is one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball to begin this year.

This isn't shocking to those who followed Gorman's offseason and Spring Training. Gorman worked extremely hard this offseason to improve on his weaknesses at the plate and be able to let his tools shine through more. He was one of, if not the most impressive, Cardinal throughout all of Spring Training and seemed primed for a breakout this season.

People seemed to be quick to give up on Gorman after he didn't set the world on fire during his rookie campaign. He still hit 14 home runs in 89 games and had a .721 OPS, but his strikeouts seemed to overshadow any production.

This season, Gorman has cut down his strikeout rate significantly and grown his walk rate in a big way. When pitchers do give him something in the zone, he's been doing damage with it time and time again. Gorman is already looking like the kind of guy scouts and fans were dreaming he could be at the plate.

On top of just how good his bat has been to this point, there are two important qualities about Gorman that help this team even more in unique ways.

Nolan Gorman provides left-handed power that the Cardinals have been sorely lacking

Although the Cardinals' lineup has been one of the better lineups in baseball the last two years, the two things people could point two as major flaws were the last of a third dependable bat and the lack of a left-handed power threat.

This has never really hurt them in the regular season, but when you get to October, matchups are everything, and not having someone you fear from the left side of the plate limits the amount of pressure you can put on an opposing staff.

With Gorman, the Cardinals may finally have their answer for the elite pitching they'll face this October. Gorman can eventually bat fifth in the Cardinals order as protection for Goldschmidt and Arenado, or they could get creative and slot him in third, to break up the run of right-handed hitters and make it extremely hard for clubs to bring in a lefty to face Gorman or righties to face Goldschmidt and Arenado.

Gorman will be 23 soon, so that may feel like a lot of pressure to put on a second-year player, but that is the benefit of Gorman being the third bat - the two guys he's behind in the pecking order are MVP candidates. Plus, he's already shown a clutch gene two times during the young season.

Not only that, but the Cardinals also have a deep lineup of high-upside bats to take pressure off of Gorman, which brings me to my third point.

Nolan Gorman will be surrounded by high upside bats throughout the order

The beauty of Gorman emerging as a second base/DH option for the Cardinals is that the club has pieces at every other position in their lineup to field a high-upside supporting cast.

The corner infield spots have future Hall of Famers in their prime, they have one of the best-hitting catchers in the business, their middle infield (assuming Gorman DHs) has an on-base/power machine in Donovan and scrappy speed threat in Edman, and their outfield has five quality options that all have strong arguments to start on a contender.

The Cardinals have the pieces to support Gorman in their lineup. Right now, Donovan, Burleson, and Nootbaar represent great on-base threats with power at the top of the order with power. The bottom of the order can have a mix of dangerous hitters with O'Neill, Walker, Contreras, and Edman. Opposing pitching can't pitch around a guy like Gorman or risk allowing the rest of the lineup to break the game wide open.

So what does that mean? Gorman should keep getting quality chances to do damage throughout the year. For as much as teams would rather avoid pitching to a lefty masher like Gorman, the MVP duo and elite supporting cast give them little choice.

Gorman has the talent and unique skillset to transform this Cardinals' lineup if he keeps up his hot start, and I'm anticipating an All-Star-level season from Gorman in response to that.