Pair Of Rising Cardinals Stars Reportedly Set To Return In Not-So-Distant Future

The St. Louis Cardinals should be closer to full strength very shortly.

St. Louis has been without the services of slugger Nolan Gorman and outfielder Lars Nootbar but both rising stars reportedly should be back in the lineup by the end of the week, according to MLB.com's John Denton.

"Nolan Gorman (low back tightness) and Lars Nootbaar (groin contusion) will travel with the Cardinals to Pittsburgh," Denton said. "Both are still on track to return by the end of this week."

Gorman last played for the Cardinals on August 13 and has missed the club's last seven games while dealing with lower back tightness. The 23-year-old has been one of the Cardinals' most impressive players so far this season. The young slugger has taken a major step forward and is slashing .241/.328/.487 to go along with 24 home runs and 67 RBIs across 104 games played. 

Nootbaar -- like Gorman -- also has taken a major step forward this season. The 25-year-old has also been one of the Cardinals' most impressive players this season when healthy. Nootbaar has appeared in 90 games so far this season and is slashing .283/.382/.453 to go along with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs. The young outfielder has been out since August 17 with a groin contusion, but it doesn't sound serious.

Luckily for the Cardinals, it sounds like both Nootbaar and Gorman will be back in the lineup very shortly. Although the Cardinals significantly more likely than not will not be in the postseason this year, it will be nice to see Gorman and Nootbaar getting more repetitions.