ST. LOUIS — The future is now for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Per Bally Sports Midwest, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol announced after Thursday's loss to the Mets that power-hitting prospect Nolan Gorman and lefty starter Matthew Liberatore were heading to the majors.
Marmol said outfielder Tyler O'Neill would head to the 10-day injured list. The team will make another corresponding move when Liberatore joins the team on Saturday.
Gorman is a 22-year-old infielder who has put up some eye-popping power numbers in the minors. This season, Gorman has 15 home runs in 34 games at AAA. The Cardinals drafted Gorman with the 19th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school in Arizona.
Gorman is a third baseman by trade but has moved to second base with Nolan Arenado anchoring third in the big leagues. He is expected to start at second base on Friday.
The Cardinals acquired the lefty Liberatore in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays that famously sent outfielder Randy Arozarena to Tampa. Liberatore was the 16th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft and has gone 3-3 with a 3.43 ERA for Memphis this season. Liberatore is set to make his first career start against the Pirates on Saturday.
Gorman and Liberatore grew up together in Arizona, becoming teammates at 5 years old on a local coach pitch team.
The pair are two of the top prospects in baseball now.
Gorman is currently ranked as the second-best second-base prospect in baseball by MLB.com, with Liberatore currently slotting in as the second-best left-handed pitching prospect.
Marmol said Tommy Edman will move to shortstop with Gorman in the lineup.