Re-ranking the value of the Cardinals' 10 best young position players

5. Nolan Gorman (Previous ranking: #3)

This whole list is really difficult to rank, as in all honestly, the guys ranked 6-2 are in a similar tier to me. For now, I'm bumping Nolan Gorman down the list a bit, but I could easily see him being as high as number two for others.

I feel like people are going to read Gorman at number five as an inditement on his, but I actually think it just says more about the other talent the Cardinals have. Gorman's left-handed power and improved defense at second base make him an extremely valuable player.

Gorman is a streaky hitter by nature, and it's hard to imagine he won't be his whole career. Maybe he ends up finding a flow and avoiding those long dry spells he can find himself in, but he feels to me more like Kyle Schwarber than a true superstar bat. When Gorman is on, he's one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. When Gorman is struggling though, he looks like he doesn't even belong at the Major League level.

That's an excellent player to have on your roster. It's difficult to rank a guy with 40+ home run potential this low on the list, but it just tells you how invested I am in the Cardinals players I have above him.

I do think it's critical that the Cardinals hold onto their trio of highly valued left-handed bats (Gorman, Lars Nootbaar, and Brendan Donovan). Dynamic left-handed bats help unlock a lineup's full potential, and the Cardinals need that specific blend of players in their lineup if they are going to be a top unit in baseball.