Pirates Must Let Nick Gonzales Sink or Swim At the Big League Level
p/c: Christopher Horner - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
As if being a first-year general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t already an adjustment, for Ben Cherington entering 2020, there was the Covid pandemic, which added another interesting wrinkle.
Pittsburgh had the seventh overall pick in the ‘20 MLB Draft. Cherington’s first selection as Pirates GM was Nick Gonzales.
For most scouts, the consensus was Gonzales being the best pure hitter in that year’s draft. Based on the video game type numbers he put up at New Mexico State, it was hard to argue.
Entering last year, Gonzales was playing for the Indianapolis Indians. It was on June 23rd that his contract was selected by the Pirates, which placed him on both the 40-man and active roster.
Gonzales slashed .257/.370/.450, before his call up to Pittsburgh. His first taste of the bigs didn’t go as planned, as he posted a .216/.268/.353 line, and was optioned back to AAA on August 3rd. He found himself getting recalled on September 26th, where he played in the Pirates’ final four games of the season.
2023 had major growing pains for Gonzales, as an MLB rookie. The hitting metrics below certainly tell the story.
Gonzales simply did very little at the plate overall with the Pirates - most notably the lack of consistent contact. Plenty of swing & miss was also a factor, as it led to a 28.1% strikeout rate. Perhaps the one saving grace, if you can call it that, was Gonzales doing an okay job of not chasing a lot of pitches out of the zone.
Defensively, Gonzales played second base, as well as shortstop in Pittsburgh - the latter having mainly to due with needing options to fill in, for an injured Oneil Cruz. Gonzales rated out as subpar at both middle infield positions.
Heading into spring training, the Pirates were set to have a competition at second base. Gonzales was of course one of the candidates, along with Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo. In the end, Triolo came out victorious, to be the starting second baseman on Opening Day.
So far in the early going, Gonzales has been red hot with Indianapolis. In 14 games, he’s hit safely in 13 of those. The one game Gonzales didn’t record a hit, he got on base with a walk. The slash line is currently .362/.413/.552. In addition, he has eight doubles, which leads the International League.
Aside from Gonzales’ overall plate production, he’s done better work of decreasing the K rate at 19.0%. Last season, while with the Indians, he struck out at a 26.6% clip. With the lower strikeout rate has come a lower walk rate at 6.3% - almost cut in half compared to ‘23 (12.0%), so it seems Gonzales is willing to sacrifice some free passes, if it means cutting down on the strikeouts.
For Gonzales, he’s looking to return to Pittsburgh sooner rather than later. Once Gonzales does rejoin the Pirates, he should be given an extensive opportunity, to be the second baseman, which would allow manager Derek Shelton to have Triolo in his more suited role as a utility infielder. Without sounding exaggerated, Gonzales’ next time up needs to be a make or break situation.