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NICK GONZALES, SHORTSTOP
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| Born: May 27, 1999 Height: 5′ 10″ Weight: 190 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 1st Round, 7th Overall, 2020 How Acquired: Draft College: New Mexico State University Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
| After going undrafted out of high school, Gonzales became one of the best hitters in college ball at New Mexico State. He put up playstation numbers, with an OPS of 1.021 as a freshman and a line of 432/532/773 in a sophomore year in which he led the nation in batting. He hit 448/610/1155 in a truncated junior year. The numbers, especially the power, were certainly influenced by a high-offense environment. Gonzales did, however, hit 351/451/630 with seven home runs in the Cape Cod League in 2019, earning himself MVP honors and being named the league’s top prospect by Baseball America. BA also rated him the fifth best prospect in the draft, which is about where most other prospect authorities ranked him.
As a pro, Gonzales probably profiles as a line-drive hitter with excellent plate discipline — he had 66 walks and 40 strikeouts in his last season-and-a-fraction in college — and hopefully moderate power. One source of doubt on the latter point is that his exit velocity hasn’t been exceptional. Gonzales’ speed is above-average. He probably has the arm strength for short, but many scouts question whether he has the quickness for the position, although the Pirates will probably start off with him there. Gonzales signed for exactly the slot amount. Since he appears to be very advanced as a hitter, he should have a good chance of reaching the majors quickly. 2020 Gonzales was at the Pirates’ alternate training site at Altoona. The Pirates don’t appear ready to move him off short entirely yet. Its also possible he’ll go straight to AA once play resumes. |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2021: Minor league contract |
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: $5,432,400 MiLB Debut: MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2026 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2023 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| June 10, 2020: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round, 7th overall pick; signed on June 24. |