The call-ups of St. Louis Cardinals prospects Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore has been a long time coming and on Friday, Gorman made his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Batting sixth and playing second, Gorman was looking to make a great first impression in the big leagues and with one out in the second inning, he did just that.
Gorman's single was the hardest-hit ball of the game with an exit velocity of 106.8 MPH.
His rise through the minor leagues since 2018 has been meteoric and his play since moving up to Double-A Springfield is nothing short of incredible.
In Double-A, Gorman hit .288/.354/.508 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI in 43 games played.
Since moving up to Triple-A Memphis, in 110 games, Gorman hit .284 with an OBP around .350 and slugging around .500, mashing 29 home runs and driving in 71.
He's gotten better at every minor league level he's been at and has been waiting ever so eagerly for St. Louis to call him up.
Even though Triple-A competition isn't quite the big leagues, to go from hitting .240-.250 or so through Single-A to .280 and .290 by the highest level of the minors is a massive improvement.
As for St. Louis, Tommy Edman has scored the lone run of Friday night's game against Pittsburgh and is 2-for-3 on the day.
Adam Wainwright has been in control on the mound for the Cardinals, throwing five scoreless innings and striking out three.
After a rough series where St. Louis lost three of four to the New York Mets, the Cardinals need a massive series victory in Pittsburgh to rebound and get back to winning ways.
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