Gorman launches 15th homer for Memphis
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Gorman homers for second straight game (May 17)
Nolan Gorman has not gone more than five games this year without a home run.
The Cards’ second-ranked prospect launched a long ball for the second straight game in Triple-A Memphis’ 8-2 win over Gwinnett, finishing the day 3-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle. Gorman laced his fourth double of the year on the sixth pitch of the game before crushing his 15th home run, which is one dinger shy of organization-mate Moisés Gómez for the MiLB lead (he hit his 16th for Double-A Springfield). The 22-year-old added a single and a run scored to complete his day.
MLB’s No. 30 prospect is hitting .295 with a 1.031 OPS and 23 RBIs in 33 games this year. -- Stephanie Sheehan
Gorman swats 14th HR for Triple-A Memphis (May 15)
Cardinals second-ranked prospect Nolan Gorman is a strong young man. He showcased that strength again in Triple-A Memphis’ 5-4 win over Norfolk at Harbor Park, homering to briefly pull into a tie for the Minor League lead in big flies. Gorman’s solo shot in the seventh marked his 14th of the season, knotting him with Springfield’s Moisés Gómez and Greenville’s Nicholas Northcut for the Minor League lead. Gómez would hit his 15th later in the day.
Still, the total is notable given its come in 32 games for Gorman, whom it took 68 games to reach 14 homers at Memphis during his first run at Triple-A in 2021. He ultimately finished with 14 in 76 games, and 25 in 119 games between Triple- and Double-A. Solid, but not spectacular for a player whose notorious power has proceeded him since before St. Louis made him the 19th overall pick in the 2018 Draft.
Now 22, Gorman appears to be growing into that power in spades. He’s slugging .645 so far this season, with a .993 OPS. -- Joe Trezza
Still only 19, top prospect Walker white-hot at Double-A (May 13)
Fresh out of high school, it only took Jordan Walker 27 games at Single-A Palm Beach last summer before convincing the Cardinals he was ready for his next challenge. A little less than a year later, Walker is already through that number of games two levels up, at Double-A Springfield.
And if he keeps hitting like he hit Friday night, he may not be there very much longer, either.
The Cardinals' top prospect continued his torrid May breakout Friday, homering and driving in four in Springfield’s 12-8 win over Amarillo at Hammons Field. Punching an opposite-field double in the first and pulling a go-ahead, three-run homer in the fourth, Walker paced Springfield’s 11-hit attack behind No. 27 righty Connor Lunn and four relievers. D-backs No. 2 prospect (No. 19 overall) Corbin Carroll also homered for the Sod Poodles in a losing effort, launching his 10th of the year off Lunn in the third inning. Full story »
Gorman, Liberatore show out in Pipeline Game of the Month (May 12)
In the latest MLB Pipeline Game of the Month, top-ranked Cardinals prospects Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore (Triple-A Memphis) squared off against the Orioles’ Grayson Rodriguez and Adley Rustchman (Norfolk). The Redbirds came out on top, 5-2.
The biggest moment in the game came from Gorman. After striking out in his first three at-bats, the No. 31 overall prospect broke an 0-for-10 slump with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the top of the eighth.
Liberatore impressed on his end of the pitchers’ duel, striking out five (including a backwards K of Rutschman on a fastball) across six innings while allowing one earned run on four hits and four walks. MLB’s No. 41 prospect is tied for the Triple-A lead in strikeouts with 46 across 40 frames. Full story »
Gómez homers in third consecutive game (May 5)
Moisés Gómez is currently the home run king.
The right fielder added to his total during a 2-for-4 performance in Double-A Springfield's 9-6 loss to Northwest Arkansas. It also marked the third straight game he's gone yard. The 23-year-old's big fly came in the fifth -- a solo homer to right-center that put his team up 5-2. He also doubled in the seventh.
Gómez is on a seven-game hit streak with four home runs and four multihit games during that span. -- Ethan Sands
Gorman extends streak, Yepez goes deep twice for Redbirds (April 30)
Nolan Gorman made sure he extended his hitting streak to 16 games with an exclamation point. Baseball's No. 31 overall prospect hit his 11th homer and Juan Yepez left the yard twice to lead Triple-A Memphis past Durham, 11-4.
Gorman was hitless in his first two at-bats before going deep for the fourth time in five games. The 21-year-old has hit safely in each game since opening the year hitless in his first three contests. He's batting .338/.390/.811 with 13 extra-base hits and 16 RBIs.
Yepez joined his teammate in the home run parade, pushing his total to eight with his second multihomer game of 2022. The No. 6 Cardinals prospect finished with three hits and four RBIs, and is batting .280 with a .960 OPS, 13 extra-base hits and 23 RBIs. -- Michael Avallone
Lefty Liberatore extends scoreless streak for Memphis (April 29)
Matthew Liberatore, the Cardinals' No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, struck out seven over seven-plus scoreless innings in Triple-A Memphis' 2-1 win over Durham. Liberatore, who was named last week’s International League Pitcher of the Week, has gone 17 innings without allowing a run. – John Denton
Graceffo dominant yet again for Chiefs (April 27)
After setting a career high with nine punchouts in his last start, right-hander Gordon Graceffo struck out nine more in his fourth start for High-A Peoria. In a 5-2 win over Wisconsin, the 2021 fifth-rounder allowed a run in the form of a solo jack by MLB's No. 69 prospect (and No. 1 Brewers prospect) Sal Frelick, limiting Wisconsin to three hits and without issuing a walk.
In fact, Graceffo has allowed a total of one walk this year while fanning 30 over 21 1/3 innings. The Cardinals' No. 23 prospect is 2-0 with an 0.83 ERA for the Chiefs after putting together a 1.73 ERA over 11 appearances for Single-A Palm Beach in his pro debut last season. -- Josh Jackson
Gorman mashes a pair on four-hit night (April 27)
Rumors have already begun to swirl that Nolan Gorman is on the doorstep of getting the call to The Show. And it's performances like the one on Wednesday that will make those rumors a reality, sooner than later.
The second-ranked Cardinals prospect collected four knocks -- including two home runs -- drove in four runs and scored three times to lead Triple-A Memphis to a 9-6 triumph over Durham at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
It's the second multi-homer game of the season for MLB Pipeline's No. 32 overall prospect, as well as his fourth multihit effort of 2022. The performance also extends Gorman's hitting streak to 14 games. Full story »
2021 first-rounder fans 9, prospect clubs 10th HR (April 26)
There is only one player across both MiLB and MLB with 10 home runs, and his name is Moisés Gómez. The Cardinals prospect clubbed his 10th jack of the season with Double-A Springfield, a solo homer to left-center in the first inning of the Cardinals’ 5-1 win. Gómez has put up video game numbers in his first 13 games, batting .458 with a 1.658 OPS and 21 RBIs. The outfielder has already hit two more homers this season than he did in 76 games in 2021.
With High-A Peoria, the Cards’ first-round pick of the 2021 Draft, Michael McGreevy, was dealing in the Chiefs’ 3-1 win over Wisconsin. The No. 8 prospect struck out nine – including getting fellow 2021 first-rounder Sal Frelick (MIL 1) swinging twice – over six one-run innings. The righty allowed a home run in his second inning of work, but that was the extent of the damage. McGreevy gave up three more hits -- all singles -- and never faced a runner in scoring position. He tossed 67 of his 95 pitches for strikes and ran only two three-ball counts all night. The 21-year-old has allowed only two earned runs and one walk in 23 2/3 innings thus far, good for a 0.76 ERA with 25 strikeouts. -- Stephanie Sheehan
Thompson fans nine in one-hit showing for Memphis (April 26)
Left-hander Zack Thompson put together not only his finest start of the young season for Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, but also the best of his pro career. The 2019 first-rounder struck out a career-high nine while permitting one hit and one walk over a career-high 6 2/3 innings at Durham.
Thompson (1-0) plowed through the first four hitters he faced, then shrugged off a one-out walk in the second to retire nine more in a row. He threw 63 of 94 pitches for strikes and earned the win in the Redbirds' 10-0 shutout of the Bulls.
The gem brought the southpaw's ERA to 3.98 over four starts, and he's punched out 24 in 20 1/3 innings.
Nolan Gorman (MLB's No. 32 prospect) doubled, walked and plated two runs, and Juan Yepez (No. 6 in the St. Louis system) reached base five times -- walking twice, mashing a double of his own and scoring in a 3-for-4 showing. -- Josh Jackson
Liberatore tosses much-needed scoreless outing (April 23)
It was an outing that Matthew Liberatore desperately needed. The organization’s top pitching prospect absolutely dominated in his fourth start of the season, striking out nine (six looking, three swinging) across seven shutout frames. He allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter in Triple-A Memphis’ 8-0 shutout of Omaha.
The southpaw needed only eight pitches to get through the first and fanned three of the first five batters he faced before allowing a two-out single for the first hit of the day. After that base knock, Liberatore retired the next 11 batters and surrendered a one-out single in the sixth. He struck out Kyle Isbel immediately after and cruised through the seventh for the ninth outing of his career of at least seven innings pitched. MLB's No. 42 prospect never faced a runner in scoring position as he tossed 57 of his 91 pitches for strikes.
The 22-year-old sports a 4.22 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings to begin 2022. -- Stephanie Sheehan
Graceffo strikes out nine in five scoreless frames (April 21)
Gordon Graceffo made the fourth start of his career his best. Taking the bump in the nightcap of High-A Peoria's doubleheader with Cedar Rapids, the No. 23 Cardinals prospect struck out a career-high nine over five scoreless innings. Graceffo scattered three hits and a walk but was not involved in the decision, an eventual 4-3 loss.
The 22-year-old needed just 71 pitches -- 56 for strikes -- to complete his five frames. He fanned two Kernels in each inning except one and ended his night with back-to-back whiffs.
Through three starts this season, Graceffo has an 0.56 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16 innings. The 2021 fifth-round Draft pick posted a 1.73 ERA in 11 appearances (one start) with Single-A Palm Beach during his professional debut last summer. -- Michael Avallone
Gorman makes it seven homers in seven games (April 19)
The sun rises, water is wet and Nolan Gorman went deep ... again.
Playing the part of a maxed-out video game version of himself, baseball's No. 32 overall prospect went deep for the fifth consecutive game and for the seventh time in his last seven games. The solo blast proved to be the game-winner in Triple-A Memphis' 2-1 win over visiting Omaha.
Gorman's seven home runs are second in the Minors, one behind Reno's Matt Davidson.
"I'm not up there thinking about [the home runs]," Gorman said. "You do have to put blinders on, in a way, but I'm just out there trying to improve and with that, the results will take care of themselves. It's been a good stretch ... a fun stretch." Full story »
Gorman continues power binge with homer in fourth straight (April 17)
It’s only two weeks into the 2022 season, but Nolan Gorman is finishing his team's series with a flourish.
Baseball’s No. 32 overall prospect continued his power surge at the dish with a home run in his fourth straight game and the sixth time in as many contests as Triple-A Memphis fell in its series finale at Charlotte, 9-3.
After being hit by a pitch in the second inning and popping out to second base in the third, Gorman came through in the sixth. The Redbirds' designated hitter connected on an offering from Knights starter John Parke and went the other way, depositing it atop the pavilion roof in left for a solo shot. Full story»
Love strikes out 10 in dominant second start (April 17)
After allowing nine runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings in his season debut on April 12, St. Louis' No. 21 prospect Austin Love bounced back in a major way. Over five scoreless frames, Love more than tripled his previous career high in strikeouts (three, set last start) with 10 K's while allowing just two hits and three walks. The right-hander needed just 81 pitches to accomplish the feat, throwing 50 for strikes, as High-A Peoria outlasted Great Lakes, 7-6.
McGreevy extends scoreless streak to 11 2/3 frames with Chiefs (April 15)
After being limited to just 7 2/3 innings during his rookie campaign, Cardinals 2021 first-round Draft pick (No. 18 overall) Michael McGreevy has yet to yield a run through his first two starts with High-A Peoria this season. The 21-year-old right-hander has allowed a pair of hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over 11 2/3 frames with the Chiefs.
On Friday, the No. 8 Cardinals prospect worked around two hits and did not issue a walk while fanning four in 6 2/3 shutout innings. The UC Santa Barbara product did not factor into the decision of Peoria's first game of a doubleheader against Great Lakes at Dozer Park. -- Rob Terranova
Gorman blasts his fourth homer in four games (April 14)
He took a couple of games to get going, but Nolan Gorman is officially rolling at the plate in the 2022 season.
Following a five-hit performance on Wednesday, the No. 32 prospect in baseball launched a solo home run for Triple-A Memphis in its 3-2 loss to Charlotte, giving him four long balls in his past four games. Gorman ended the day 1-for-4 with two strikeouts but pushed his hitting streak to five games.
After striking out looking in his first at-bat, Gorman blasted an 84-mph changeup off the upper-deck façade in right at Truist Field to score the Redbirds’ first run of the game. It was the first homer the Cardinals’ No. 2 prospect has pulled to right this season. Full story »