Nolan Gorman is playing himself out of a job with the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals were enthralled with Nolan Gorman's upside when they grabbed him with the 19th overall pick of the 2018 draft, and the report on Gorman has largely stayed the same since he signed with the organization as a bright-eyed 18-year-old: He'd hit for power, and he'd strike out a lot. But as Gorman plays out his third season in St. Louis, his skyrocketing strikeout rates have begun to place him on the outskirts of the team's roster.

Gorman has gone down on strikes in a whopping 38% of plate appearances in 2024, including 31 K's in 69 plate appearances in July. Although he hit a respectable .262 that month, the Cardinals' tolerance looks to be wearing thin with the formerly highly touted second baseman, as Gorman has been dropped in the order if not left out of the lineup completely against right-handers, and his lineup appearances against southpaws are almost nonexistent.

The Cardinals already look to have Gorman's immediate replacement in house, as their trade for Tommy Pham has sent Brendan Donovan back to second base, at least for this season. In addition, the Cardinals' top draft pick in 2024, second baseman JJ Wetherholt, shouldn't have to spend too long in the minor leagues before he's ready to face big-league pitching.

It's been a steep descent after a promising 2023 season, where Gorman hit 27 home runs and held a 115 OPS+. Although the Cardinals were sellers at the trade deadline that year, they held on to Gorman, understandably believing him to be the one to man the keystone for the next decade. But after Gorman's lengthy frosty spells at the plate, his trade value has likely gone into a tailspin.

Pitchers have discovered that Gorman is susceptible to high fastballs, and with robot umpires on the horizon, pitchers will attack that part of the zone even more often because of the generally larger zone that robot umpires have when compared with humans. Because this weakness looks like it will be amplified in coming years, it is imperative that Gorman figure out how to hit the high strikes and lay off pitches above the zone. If he can't, he will be of little value around the league.

The Cardinals will likely hold on to Gorman given that his value has plummeted and Pham has a strong chance to be gone in 2025. but they have made it clear through their actions that they are growing weary of Gorman's whiffing ways.