6 Cardinals players who need to improve before it's too late

Nolan Gorman needs to improve before it's too late

Aside from a few hot stretches lasting a week or two at most, Nolan Gorman has been an absolute black hole for the Cardinals offensively. It's a hugely disappointing step back from a very successful campaign last season where he was great aside from one extremely poor month of June. However, it looks like June Gorman has been on the team more than he hasn't. Not only is Gorman on pace for the highest strikeout rate of all time, but he's also drawing walks at an incredibly low rate.

It feels like every time Nolan Gorman steps to the plate he's striking out on three or four pitches with non-competitive swings and walking back to the dugout. He seems completely lost at the plate, and a trip to Memphis may be the key to unlocking his potential. We've seen what Nolan Gorman could do at his best last season, and if the Cardinals hope to improve their offense, they need Gorman's bat to be right. He was meant to be a key contributor in the heart of the Cardinals order alongside Goldschmidt and Arenado, but he's been hitting 8th as of late.

In a lineup that's extremely left-handed heavy, Gorman's struggles are more harmful than other players. After all, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are still somewhat effective against left-handed pitchers, while Nolan Gorman is completely helpless. While a demotion could help the team play better, the Cardinals playoff hopes will be much weaker without Gorman for the rest of the season.

If he is demoted, he needs to get right in Triple-A quickly and rejoin the team as the powerful left-handed bat we all know he is capable of becoming.