In his eighth major-league game, Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman blasted his first major-league home run. The first of presumably many big-league homers for the 22-year-old Gorman came on Saturday at the expense of Brewers right-hander Adrian Houser (MIL-STL GameTracker) and his 95-mph fastball.
It wasn't a cheap one:
That one left the bat at 110.6 mph and covered 449 feet of distance – to repeat, not a cheap one. Also worth noting is that Houser is typically pretty stingy with home runs. Until Gorman's, Houser had allowed just 13 homers in 184 2/3 innings since the start of the 2021 season. That one gave the Cardinals an early lead in what's a critical series between the two leading NL Central contenders.
Gorman's first MLB homer has been anticipated pretty much since he arrived in St. Louis earlier this month. Ranked No. 17 on R.J. Anderson's preseason list of the top 50 prospects in all of baseball, Gorman flashed big-time power from the left side ever since the Cardinals tabbed him with the 19th-overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. In the minors, Gorman mashed 72 home runs in 341 games and slugged .502 despite being younger than his peer group at every stop.
Gorman started off hot after his call-up, as he slashed .500/.583/.700 through his first three games. However, a mini-slump followed, as he entered Saturday hitless in his last four contests. Said mini-slump, however, is hereby over and is over in authoritative fashion.
