St. Louis Cardinals Roster
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St. Louis Cardinals third base prospect Nolan Gorman sent balls flying at the Double-A level on Friday. The powerful, young hitter slugged two home runs and drove in three runs. Gorman has been hitting well in 2021 with a .315 average but his power output had been down in the early going. The homers now give him seven long-balls on the season through 32 games. The 21-year-old hitter continues to show a more mature approach at the plate with reduced strikeouts (22.5%) and a solid walk rate (11%) which has helped him post a 145 wRC+. He may soon be ready for the Triple-A challenge and is a solid dynasty league option. Gorman has also improved his versatility with nine games played at second base.
St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina got three hits in Friday's loss to the Chicago Cubs. Molina went 3-for-4, with all of his hits being singles. Despite being on base three times, "Yadi" did not score a run nor drive one in. He's hitting .286 with an .823 OPS and has been one of the better fantasy catchers this season when he's been healthy. Plenty of fantasy managers got a late-round steal in Molina this season.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Johan Oviedo gave up four runs on Friday, lasting just 4 1/3 innings. He allowed the four runs on five hits and a walk, striking out five. Oviedo threw 73 pitches, 48 for strikes. He ended up with a no decision, but his ERA sits at 5.72 and he's not a recommended starting option in most standard fantasy formats.
The St. Louis Cardinals activated shortstop Paul DeJong (ribs) from the 10-day injured list on Thursday and optioned first baseman John Nogowski to Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move. DeJong, who is hitting just .177 with seven home runs and 18 RBI on the season, was put on the injured list on May 13 with a non-displaced left rib fracture. He is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. Nogowski went 1-for-18 and had been hitless in his last 16 at-bats, with all but one of his at-bats coming as a pinch-hitter. The Cardinals offense will receive a boost with DeJong returning, even though he has hit under the Mendoza Line so far in 2021. The right-hander has provided some pop, but not much else for fantasy managers this season.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base in an 8-2 win over the Indians on Wednesday. It was his eighth homer of the year and fourth stolen base, as he is now slashing .251/.320/.416 with 30 RBI and 34 runs scored over 60 games this season. He's really heated up at the plate over his last seven games, slashing .364/.462/.727 with two home runs, one steal, two RBI and three runs scored. He'll look to keep things rolling on Friday when St. Louis opens its series with the Cubs.