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Gorman's hand-me-down cleats inspire power surge by Peoria first baseman

“I’ve been waiting on new cleats for a while so I’ve been wearing some older cleats, some cleats that have a lot of wear and tear,” Whalen told Peoria’s media relations. “So once Nolan got the boxes (of new cleats), I was hovering over his locker worshipping each pair of cleats, just hoping he might throw me a bone.”

Whalen has hit .338 with a .581 slugging percentage and 10 extra-base hits in his first 20 games this season for Peoria.

Gorman, 18 and the Cardinals' top draft pick in 2018, leads the Midwest League with seven homers, a .