5 St. Louis Cardinals that could have breakout seasons in 2023

2. Nolan Gorman

The one positive we saw with Nolan Gorman in his first season last year was his prodigious power against right-handed pitching, and the negatives were his defense which we somewhat expected playing an unnatural position at 2nd base, and strikeouts. Looking at the current roster, it would make sense to see Gorman start the season as the DH because the defensive setup in the infield is currently positioned, but Gorman should still get a lot of at-bats in 2023.

What makes me think Gorman will break out this season is the development we've seen just in Spring. As I mentioned before, strikeouts were what held Gorman back last season, specifically on fastballs high and out of the strike zone, he has changed his swing to where he's not beaten with velocity at his eyes as much. He also had some reps facing left-handed pitching, which can get him more at-bats, so I see Gorman with some tweaks to his swing not swinging and missing as much, and breaking out with a 30+ home run season this year.