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The #stlcards system went 1-3 on Monday with the trio of losing squads allowing double-digit runs and Palm Beach providing the only solace with an Angel Rondon-led shutout. Player of the Day Nolan Gorman had a pair of homers and five RBI in Peoria's loss. https://t.co/XY7SLxdERS pic.twitter.com/0q8842VDFv
— Brian Walton (@B_Walton) April 9, 2019
Toerner looks interesting. Has moved fast. Good eye. Needs to find some power. Anyone have eyes on this kid or his defense?
Brian, you stated that Gorman leads the minor leagues in xbase hits. Is that the entire minor leagues or just our system?
I will use the proverbial “its early” disclaimer but if Gorman stays on a tear it will be interesting to see how long he stays in Peoria. Will Palm Beach be his next stop? Could he possibly end the year in Springfield at age 19? Probably not since Montero needs more time there. Gorman could possibly be on a Bryce Harper type trajectory though. OK, I am getting ahead of myself. The one thing that causes me to pump the breaks are the reports about his defense. For those that have seen him play regularly in person how bad is his defense?
As for Nunez CC is spot on. Nunez needs to be ready to go ASAP. I have been asking about him repeatedly. I suppose the plan is for him to spend the summer with the GCL team or JC or SC but could he possibly advance to Peoria before year’s end? Is that too aggressive? I would like to be aggressive with him, Torres, and Soler.
“Brian, you stated that Gorman leads the minor leagues in xbase hits. Is that the entire minor leagues or just our system?”
It was actually my aside, CC, about Gorman. And yes, he leads all of the minor leagues. Well, he’s tied with three Pacific Coast League guys who play in hitter’s parks.
No Midwest League hitter has more doubles than Gorman, no MWL hitter has more homers, and only one hitter has more triples. Here’s how well the kid is hitting so far: if you took each of Gorman’s singles and turned them all into groundouts, he’d still be batting .286/.375/.810.
(from a different topic) Gorman is tearing up the Midwest League pitching as he leads the league in R-H-RBI-TB-AVR(3rd) Slugging and OPS. Donovan is also in the top 3 in several stats for the 1-4 Chiefs.(0ff=6.2 R/G) The pitching there has been fairly poor.(7.4 R/G).
In all actuality there is no reason to push Gorman just yet. Sending him to Palm Beach might be counter productive. (you know… the FSL). I’d rather wait and send him to Springfield when there is an opening. (he’ll create his own opening most likely)
Keep your fingers crossed that he is a special player.
Thanks very much, UConn! I hope to be a useful team member this season.
As for Gorman’s defense, GScott, I only saw him in person once last year, but he moved fine laterally, and charged well the only ball in front of him. So I would say that his “actions” were solid for the hot corner. It’s all about consistency. (I haven’t heard anyone say Tiny Thome was a “bad defender,” and given the extremely high number of double plays he turned last year, I don’t think such a characterization could reasonably be justified.)
Quoting from the prospect handbook, 18U National Team Director for USA Baseball Matt Blood says of Gorman: “Defensively, he can make all the plays there…solid-average to plus arm, solid-average to plus hands…in my opinion, I think he is going to be a solid-average to plus third baseman.”
I share Mr. Blood’s optimism, if that’s worth anything. Anyway his complete quote offers more detail, so get that handbook if you haven’t!
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