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Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:00 am
by nighthawk
Gorman turns 26 next year -- the same age that Wisdom started his major league career. With that earlier start, he's now got about the same number of plate appearances that Wisdom had by the time his MLB career ended at age 32. Here's how they compare....
Gorman -- 1,466 PAs
Wisdom -- 1,473 PAs
Gorman -- 184 runs
Wisdom -- 192 runs
Gorman -- 54 doubles
Wisdom -- 58 doubles
Gorman -- 1 triple
Wisdom -- 3 triples
Gorman -- 72 homers
Wisdom -- 88 homers
Gorman -- 199 RBIs
Wisdom -- 207 RBIs
Gorman -- 152 walks
Wisdom -- 132 walks
Gorman -- 489 Ks
Wisdom -- 540 Ks
Gorman -- .221/.304/.430/.735
Wisdom -- .209/.291/.459/.750
They are essentially the same type of player -- power hitters with not much plate discipline. The only real significant difference is that Gorman was deemed ready for MLB ball at age 22 and Wisdom started at age 26. So Gorman's level of perfomance has been accomplished at a much younger age and his runway for potential improvement is longer.
But it's interesting that in this era of emphasizing launch angle/exit velocity that the Cards have produced nearly identical third basemen -- both first round draft picks. I don't recall Wisdom being as highly touted as Gorman. Could Gorman eventually put it together and have a career reasonable close to Gary Gaetti's (without the fielding prowess)? Probably more of a poor man's Gaetti at most. Then again, he may just fade like Wisdom and find success in the Korean league.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:05 am
by Cranny
nighthawk wrote: ↑22 Aug 2025 10:00 am
Gorman turns 26 next year -- the same age that Wisdom started his major league career. With that earlier start, he's now got about the same number of plate appearances that Wisdom had by the time his MLB career ended at age 32. Here's how they compare....
Gorman -- 1,466 PAs
Wisdom -- 1,473 PAs
Gorman -- 184 runs
Wisdom -- 192 runs
Gorman -- 54 doubles
Wisdom -- 58 doubles
Gorman -- 1 triple
Wisdom -- 3 triples
Gorman -- 72 homers
Wisdom -- 88 homers
Gorman -- 199 RBIs
Wisdom -- 207 RBIs
Gorman -- 152 walks
Wisdom -- 132 walks
Gorman -- 489 Ks
Wisdom -- 540 Ks
Gorman -- .221/.304/.430/.735
Wisdom -- .209/.291/.459/.750
They are essentially the same type of player -- power hitters with not much plate discipline. The only real significant difference is that Gorman was deemed ready for MLB ball at age 22 and Wisdom started at age 26. So Gorman's level of perfomance has been accomplished at a much younger age and his runway for potential improvement is longer.
But it's interesting that in this era of emphasizing launch angle/exit velocity that the Cards have produced nearly identical third basemen -- both first round draft picks. I don't recall Wisdom being as highly touted as Gorman. Could Gorman eventually put it together and have a career reasonable close to Gary Gaetti's (without the fielding prowess)? Probably more of a poor man's Gaetti at most. Then again, he may just fade like Wisdom and find success in the Korean league.
Wisdom?
28 HRs for the Cubs in 2021
25 HRs for the Cubs in 2022
23 HRs for the Cubs in 2023
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:11 am
by NYCardsFan
Cranny wrote: ↑22 Aug 2025 10:05 am
nighthawk wrote: ↑22 Aug 2025 10:00 am
Gorman turns 26 next year -- the same age that Wisdom started his major league career. With that earlier start, he's now got about the same number of plate appearances that Wisdom had by the time his MLB career ended at age 32. Here's how they compare....
Gorman -- 1,466 PAs
Wisdom -- 1,473 PAs
Gorman -- 184 runs
Wisdom -- 192 runs
Gorman -- 54 doubles
Wisdom -- 58 doubles
Gorman -- 1 triple
Wisdom -- 3 triples
Gorman -- 72 homers
Wisdom -- 88 homers
Gorman -- 199 RBIs
Wisdom -- 207 RBIs
Gorman -- 152 walks
Wisdom -- 132 walks
Gorman -- 489 Ks
Wisdom -- 540 Ks
Gorman -- .221/.304/.430/.735
Wisdom -- .209/.291/.459/.750
They are essentially the same type of player -- power hitters with not much plate discipline. The only real significant difference is that Gorman was deemed ready for MLB ball at age 22 and Wisdom started at age 26. So Gorman's level of perfomance has been accomplished at a much younger age and his runway for potential improvement is longer.
But it's interesting that in this era of emphasizing launch angle/exit velocity that the Cards have produced nearly identical third basemen -- both first round draft picks. I don't recall Wisdom being as highly touted as Gorman. Could Gorman eventually put it together and have a career reasonable close to Gary Gaetti's (without the fielding prowess)? Probably more of a poor man's Gaetti at most. Then again, he may just fade like Wisdom and find success in the Korean league.
Wisdom?
28 HRs for the Cubs in 2021
(117 wRC+, 2.3 fWAR)
25 HRs for the Cubs in 2022
(106 wRC+, 1.2 fWAR)
23 HRs for the Cubs in 2023
(111 wRC+, 0.7 fWAR)
8 HRs for the Cubs in 2024 (74 wRC+, -0.2 fWAR)
Out of MLB in 2025
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:18 am
by 3dender
I think the fact that Gorman has already produced essentially as much as Wisdom did at his peak is pretty strong evidence that Gorman is a much better player overall, if one cast in the same mold.
Actually makes me feel better to see how much he has accomplished so far... and pretty much just entering his peak so it feels like a safe bet he'll be better over the next 3-4 years.
The problem is that unless he plays DH or 1B he's probably gonna be cancelling out significant offensive value with his poor defense.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:23 am
by An Old Friend
No offense, but this is an awful comp.
Wisdom's first meaningful playing time came at age-29 with his 3rd organization. He was undrafted out of high school.
Gorman's track has been slowed, and I think we can all agree that their player development process has done many of their young players no favors. I'm anxious to see what he looks like with the new guys in place.
An Isaac Paredes type would be a nice outcome.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:45 am
by icon
Bad comp when it doesn't show the improvement Gorman has shown in the second half of this year. Let's see what Gorman has done by age 32. But a big question with Gorman is the health of his back.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:56 am
by BrockFloodMaris
3dender wrote: ↑22 Aug 2025 10:18 am
I think the fact that Gorman has already produced essentially as much as Wisdom did at his peak is pretty strong evidence that Gorman is a much better player overall, if one cast in the same mold.
Actually makes me feel better to see how much he has accomplished so far... and pretty much just entering his peak so it feels like a safe bet he'll be better over the next 3-4 years.
The problem is that unless he plays DH or 1B he's probably gonna be cancelling out significant offensive value with his poor defense.
An interesting, albeit a questionably relevant, comparison. My measure of Gorman is largely based on his plate coverage, which is not good and his pitch recognition which is fair. I also make visual comparisons between Gorman and some of my favorite (similarly shaped) third basemen. When compared to Schmidt, Caminiti or Rolen, Gorman does not look good at all.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 10:58 am
by 3dender
icon wrote: ↑22 Aug 2025 10:45 am
Bad comp when it doesn't show the improvement Gorman has shown in the second half of this year. Let's see what Gorman has done by age 32. But a big question with Gorman is the health of his back.
Is it a big question still? He has missed 2.5 weeks this year for his back and he's been healthy the rest of the season, except for a hammy at the beginning of the year. I mean I guess it's a question still but how big a question should it be going forward?
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 11:21 am
by Strummer Jones
The comp makes sense if you look at it from a raw numbers standpoint, but Gorm is significantly younger when those numbers were put up.
Truthfully, I'm not all that high on Gorm. I'm sure I've said it a million times on here, but when he's white hot, he'll carry a team, but when he's not, he's just a net zero. He doesn't run all that well, his defense isn't good, he draws a decent amount of walks, but he doesn't have the speed to put pressure on defenses. Unless he's just launching rockets into the seats, there's not much that he does that helps a team.
Re: Nolan Gorman -- Patrick Wisdom
Posted: 22 Aug 2025 11:28 am
by ScotchMIrish
Not a fan of that archetype unless they are hitting for a lot more power than Gorman and Wisdom. It does seem like the Cardinals could have received more in return for Wisdom.