Cardinals Demote Top Prospect, Recall Another

One of the St. Louis Cardinals' top prospects, he got off to a rollicking red-hot start upon his promotion earlier this season, but since then it's been a mighty struggle for infielder Nolan Gorman. The Cards have now demoted him back to Triple-A.

INF/OF Juan Yepez has been recalled from Memphis (AAA).

INF Nolan Gorman has been optioned to Memphis. pic.twitter.com/brKpe3xTHj

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 20, 2022

Gorman tore up Triple-A through 34 games to begin the season, with 15 homers and an OPS of 1.044. As one of the game's elite prospects, the 22-year-old's call-up on May 20th was well-deserved. 

Then after hitting three HR in his first 11 games in the majors, it looked like he was there to stay. But he cooled off considerably as time went on; he's hit just .207 since the All-Star break, with a .661 OPS. And in the past 15 games, his numbers have plummeted to a .154 average with a .522 OPS and one HR. Overall, he heads back to Memphis with a .226 average and a .721 OPS, along with 14 HR and 35 RBIs in 89 games. 

Gorman's defense has also struggled. Brendan Donovan will likely take over full-time at second base for now.

Juan Yepez now gets another shot at the bigs. Yepez, 24, is another rookie who got off to a hot start, batting .400 in his first eight games, but unfortunately hit the injured list in mid-July with a right forearm strain. 

Yepez had been pretty solid in his time in St. Louis, holding a .252 average with a .754 OPS, 11 HR and 27 RBIs. He'll likely see time in the corner outfield spots. 

Photos: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports, Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports