JUPITER, Fla. -- Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman had a season to forget in 2025. He had a hard time making contact and ended the season with a slash line of .205/.296/.370 and 136 strikeouts.
But it looks like the hard work he put in during the offseason is paying off. In Saturday's 7-7 eight-inning tie against the Marlins, Gorman went 2-for-3, including his third home run of the spring. With that fourth-inning dinger against Marlins right-hander Ryan Gusto, Gorman reached base in his sixth consecutive plate appearance. During those appearances, which spanned three games, Gorman managed to hit for the cycle.
“It’s a testament of what I did this offseason,” Gorman said. “It’s hard to get those reps in the offseason [when it comes to getting] at-bats. I’ve been able to come to Spring Training and feel it out. It feels good. I think a lot of work I did in the offseason is coming through.”
After the season came to an end in Chicago last year, Gorman went to see a hitting guru recommended by former teammate Nolan Arenado (Gorman declined to name the expert). Gorman spent two weeks with the hitting coach from Nov. 3-15 trying to figure out how to land his front foot in a better position before swinging. He has found that position and struck out only five times in 30 at-bats this spring.
Manager Oliver Marmol has taken notice of Gorman’s success at the plate. The skipper wants his third baseman to continue to have better swing decisions in the batter’s box.
“He is doing a nice job. His approach is there. His swing is there. The adjustments are coming into play. That’s what you like to see,” Marmol said about Gorman. “We talk about someone going into the offseason knowing what they have to do, coming back and actually putting it into action. He has done that. … I’m glad we actually have a little more time [in Florida] to allow him to get in that groove and feel really good about it.”