4:23pm: Pittsburgh officially selected Gonzales’ contract. Outfielder Cal Mitchell was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to clear a spot on the active roster. To open a 40-man vacancy, the Bucs transferred righty Vince Velasquez from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. He’s out for the season after undergoing elbow surgery.
11:00am: The Pirates are set to promote infield prospect Nick Gonzales, reports Jim Rosati of North Shore Nine. Gonzales isn’t on the 40-man roster so a corresponding move or moves will be required to get him aboard.
Gonzales, 24, was selected by the Pirates with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft. The minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic that year, but he was nonetheless vaulted onto prospect lists based on his work at New Mexico State University. His exceptional bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline were lauded as his standout tools as Baseball America ranked him the #51 prospect in the league going into 2021. MLB Pipeline had him at #43, Baseball Prospectus at #39, FanGraphs at #86 and ESPN at #66.
He was finally able to make his professional debut in 2021, spending it in High-A. A broken finger cost him more than a month of that season but he still got into 80 games. He walked in 10.8% of his plate appearances but his 27.4% strikeout rate was on the high side, especially for a player whose carrying tool is his bat. Nonetheless, he hit .302/.385/.565 at that level and generally crept higher on prospect lists going into 2022.
Injuries popped up again last year as he tore the plantar fascia in the heel of his foot, costing him about two months and limiting him to just 74 games on the year. He posted a strong batting line of .264/.382/.435, mostly in Double-A, but struck out at a 28.4% clip. He finished the year with a sold .279/.351/.500 showing in the Arizona fall league.
Despite those strong batting lines, the concerns about the punchouts delivered a blow to his prospect stock. He’s not considered an especially strong defender or baserunner, making any drop in the assessment of hit bat noteworthy. He was bumped off each of the aforementioned prospect lists coming into 2023 and dropped on team-specific lists as well. BA had him #8 in the Pirates’ system at the start of the this year after having him at #3 in previous seasons. Keith Law of The Athletic put him at #9 while FanGraphs had him all the way down at #23, with each outlet concerned about the swing and miss, particularly against breaking pitches.
Here in 2023, Gonzales has been in Triple-A. Through 262 plate appearances, he’s hitting .257/.370/.450 for a wRC+ of 106. That indicates he’s been a bit above league average at that level but he’s still striking out at a 28.6% rate.
Defensively, Gonzales has spent most of his time at second base. He’s not especially well regarded there, but has also seen some time at shortstop and third. The Bucs are set at third base with Ke’Bryan Hayes but the middle infield is a little less clear with shortstop Oneil Cruz still on the injured list and not close to a return. Mark Mathias got some time at second base but was optioned earlier this week after hitting at a subpar rate. Each of Ji Hwan Bae and Tucupita Marcano have played some middle infield but also with below-average offensive output. Rodolfo Castro has been a hair above average at the plate but his shortstop defense isn’t very well regarded.
Given all of those imperfect pieces, the Pirates will turn to Gonzales to see if he can provide a jolt. Despite the strikeout concerns, he does seem to do consistent damage when he does make contact. The Pirates got out to a scorching hot start this year and were leading the National League Central for a time but they are in a bad skid now. They have lost 10 straight and put Bryan Reynolds on the injured list yesterday. It seems they don’t want the season to slip away from them and are willing to turn to their farm for reinforcements, promoting Henry Davis earlier this week and now Gonzales.
Bring up the kids!
Who’s going back to Indy or being waived?
Probably Cal Mitchell, they already have a glut of outfielders but if it was my choice, I’d send Castro back to Indy. He’s a liability in the field and strikes out far too often
Castro has a 34 wRC+ in June. Austin Hedges is at 32 wRC+ in the same time. You know something’s wrong when you’re only 2% better than Austin Hedges. You might be able to live with a 26.2% K-rate in the month if he wasn’t walking just 2.4% of the time. I wouldn’t be opposed to sending him down right now. He has just eight hits (two XBH), one walk, 11 K’s in 42 plate appearances. He’s in a big time slump right now, but granted, who isn’t on the Pirates?
It could also be Cody Bolton. With Reynolds out, they probably want an extra OF on the roster, even with Davis playing a handuful of games in RF. But right now, it’s like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic, even if that phrase is so overused.
If you’ve read any of my posts here, then you must know that I don’t care about analytics, as Sheldon uses them and gets zilch in results
Suwinski struck out 4 times last night, and regardless of what his WRC+ is, he’s a liability at the plate.
All of that said, I’m still baffled as to how an entire team can be in a perpetual slump game after game
Is it the lack of talent or a sub-par hitting coach?
without looking too deep, it seems their pitching can’t keep them in games
I understand and respect your opinion, but the Rays are probably the most analyically advanced team in baseball, and look at them. It depends on how you use them, and which ones are being used. Probably most publically avaiable and basic analytics, such as wRC+, are not being used by front offices and coaches in evaluating their team, and teams have their own analytics and methods of evaluating players. A stat like wRC+ just scratches the surface of today’s analytics.
The Rays are deep in talent, the Bucs aren’t
Not saying they aren’t, but they’re also on the forefront of baseball analysis, analytics, etc.
Then maybe it’s the manager and his inability to fully grasp analytics, because Sheldon certainly uses it and the results are poor at best
Connor Joe who’s batting average with runners in scoring position is one of the worst on this team is again in the #3 position in the lineup.
This is my argument against Shelton using analytics in determining his lineups.
Cutch is the best leadoff hitter because he draws more walks than any other player yet he’s at #2 and Bae who should be at the top of the lineup, at 2, is batting 8.
“Why doesn’t my team that uses analytics have an advantage over every other team that uses analytics?”
Castro back to indy. Mitchell to Indy when reynolds is back. Let Castro get every day ABs against RHP. If sucks there, get rid of him. He’s going to be out of options after this year anyways.
Marcano isn’t much better than Castro, he can’t hit lefties while Castro can’t hit righties
Our player development certainly has alot of questionable holes that minor league players can’t seem to overcome
Same can be said about the system hitting coaches. While teams like Baltimore, Cincinnati and even Tampa tend to more often than not, have a robust minor league system, the Bucs, whose losing seasons are perpetual given us high draft picks, our supposed top prospects aren’t in the same category as those with the teams mentioned above
Marcano passes the eye test at SS, whereas Castro is clearly poor defensively at both MIF positions. I’d play the former every day at the premium position and try to utilize his bunting skills until Cruz is healthy or Peguaro/Williams are called up.
Bae is suited to CF as I see progress and think his bat will come around too – he was a very good OBA/speed guy in the minors.
Gonzales deserves a look at 2B while Castro should be used only as the lefty mashing utility man that he’s destined to be. Play him everywhere bar CF and Catcher. against southpaws while protecting the LH guys.
I agree and Bae should also use the bunt to generate hits but this team doesn’t bunt
A team that sorely lacks base runners and runs should do everything feasible outside the current system
Oh boy. Hope this help to break this losing streak.
time to relax and let the young guys play.
exactly. they overachieved.
it was nice.. but now back to the gameplan.
this team will be incredible soon enough.
they’re already incredible
incredibly bad
It’s always they will be. Every year. They never get sick of saying next year. Would love to know what evidence they see of it actually happening.
Their evidence is the hope that fans buy into their propaganda and forget about the years prior when they said the same things
Great, the youthful energy sure can’t hurt.
Even though it’s been a rough nearly two weeks now, I’m happy to see some of these young guys get the call.
Whatever happens from here on out to the Pirates happens, but I’m going to still enjoy moments like this, regardless.
youtube.com/watch?v=PTkU9f_AEF8
I’m a little sceptical. He has hit ok this year but a 5’9 dude drafted top10 out of a college Team shouldn’t strike out almost 30% which he essentially did his whole minor league career and this year too.
I’m not seeing how his Profile could work out.he seems to be Patient at the plate and does have some pop “for his size” but he probably doesn’t have enough power to compensate for a 30% k rate.
There are players who can improve their k rate, but those are typically not 24 year olds who have played college ball.
I hope he has some success but I don’t really see a path for him unless he develops enough power to be a Dan Uggla type but I doubt his body type has that in him.
I wonder if that is an issue with the Pirates player development. NG wasn’t seen as a high K out of college and their last years draft pick temarr Johnson who was seen as a generational hit tool guy by some scouts and he is also striking out a huge amount.
Maybe getting NG out of their minor league player dev can help him some?
That requires a lot of faith in Andy Haines, which is a leap of faith in itself.
I wouldn’t trust Haines to walk my dog
He’s not any good. Castro bae and Marcano haven’t been any good and Gonzales is out of time at 24 years old. This is how they operate. If he comes up and is terrible, no one will care about him anymore.
In Gonzales’ defense, he’s always been a slow starter, and usually picks it up by June. He’s batted .270/.440/.460 with a .412 wOBA, and 136 wRC+ in the month with a greatly improved 21.2% K-rate. Last year, he had an 80 wRC+ through mid-May, then had a 151 wRC+ from that point forward. 2021, same story: 107 wRC+ through the first two months, 164 wRC+ throughout the rest of the year. It wouldn’t be the first time Gonzales seemed to figure his at a level once getting acclimated to it.
Yeah he’s made some small improvements. I give him that. When you pick a guy 7th in the draft from college and he’s 24, you would like more of a sure thing and better overall stats than he has though. He’s more getting a chance because the other 3 guys have been so bad than anything of his own doing.
I don’t disagree with your assessment, but I really wonder how differently the 2020 draft plays out if a whole college/high school season is played, and coaches, scouts, and other MLB talent evaluators can go and see players in person. It’s always been a ‘what-if’ scenario I think about from time to time.
I don’t see him being any better than Castro at the plate, if that. I sure hope I’m wrong but not many of the prospects look good anymore other than Davis.
Just in the Nick of time?
He reminds me a little of Keston Hiura. College second basemen from mid majors with elite contact skills who started to strike out a lot more as a professional.
Hiura went from second to first but it puts a lot of pressure on the bat if you’re a second baseman by the time you’re drafted. Hopefully he keeps making adjustments though.
Hiura has a lot more raw power though than NG so he can afford a little higher K rate than NG.
What NG needs to do is getting really good at hitting breaking balls. He has a swing that is generally suited well to hit low pitches (same steep vertical bat angle as trout has) but mlb pitchers unlike 10 years ago don’t through many low fastballs anymore so to be a low ball hitter in 2023 you need to be an excellent breaking ball hitter.
NG has crazy raw power. He hit 5 HRs in a day in college during a doubleheader…and his exit velocities are off the charts.
Correction: Jim’s twitter is @northsidenotch.
He often does a post-game podcast with NSN.
Another example of terrible drafting by the Blue Jays… they took Austin Martin at #5 and gave him a $7 million signing bonus before trading him to the Twins in the José Berríos deal. Gonzales joins Reid Detmers, Garrett Crochet and Patrick Bailey as top 13 picks on 2020 all in the bigs… not to mention other first rounders taken after No. 5 that year like Bobby Miller, Jordan Walker, Jared Shuster and Garrett Mitchell!
Austin Martin was considered a top 2 draft pick that year. Didn’t work out but they flipped him while he had value for Berrios.
SWR was more valuable at the time too. Not a terrible job by the FO for that move.
I give the Jays credit for recognizing quickly a bad pick , and dumping them before everyone else catches on. Martin , Groshans, Hoffman et al
The Blue Jays got Berrios for a prospect that is still in the minors. Sounds like they did alright to me.
I haven’t written off Martin yet. It was a solid pick.
The Pirates need a new hitting coach. That will probably be the next move.
Go Aggies! NMSU baby!
Not a Pirates fan, but are they really “set” at third? Hayes has played almost two full seasons worth of games and does not have a very impressive stat line.
Hayes isn’t considered a top offensive producer,it’s his fielding that is superior and has one of the best arms at his position
Pretty much. You can’t defend at 3b any better than Hayes. If you can hit much better they will find a spot elsewhere for you. Only scenario you don’t start Hayes at 3b is if you have 10 other guys with 800 900 ops. I’m not worried about that happening.
The problem with Hayes is because the Pirates have such a poor lineup they NEED Hayes to punch about his weight. Ideally, Hayes would be a role playing hitter while playing his typical brilliant defense, which DOES win games. Trouble is, when you can’t score it doesn’t matter. Pirates offense is atrocious, Hayes for as average as he is, is one of their 3 best hitters. That says something.
Other than being a high draft pick, what has this kid done? Looks more like he has underperformed and not lived up to any expectations. He’s 24 and has nothing to show for his 2023 AAA season. Not sure why they are bribing him up, other than to see if there is anything there before being a “buyer” at the deadline. I use that term loosely because I feel like the Pirates buying would be like the city of Oakland actually putting forth any effort to keep the A’s Oakland. Other thought is they know they have nothing in him, but they are hoping he can show something at the major league level and they can use that to turn him into valuable trade bait, because they know he doesn’t have enough value right now. I don’t know. Thoughts?
You aren’t wrong. They will try and stick one of these mediocre middle infielders in the trade when they sell off their rentals at the deadline.
They are bringing him up because every other infielder is underperforming because our player development has been atrocious over the past few years
Other teams have scouts. They don’t need to see him at mlb level. If he comes up and puts up fake stats they will know.
He hasn’t looked special but has improved this year and nothing wrong with him getting a shot. He was a high draft pick if 7 is high, usually a lot of drop off by the time you get to 7. 2020 draft was weak. He wouldn’t go top 10 in many years.
People are gonna expect a singles hitter. He’s not that. He strikes out more than you think but when he hits the ball, he hits the ball.
Gonzo has done nothing to earn this call up. .257, 6 HR’s, 1 sb and 75 k’s in 57 games. Major league pitchers are going to eat him alive.
He’s up more because of the struggles of the guys who play middle infield than anything of his own doing, which is sad because he was the 7th pick in the draft.
@leftcoaster, Break down the stats and don’t just look at the aggregate. His .257 for the season breaks down to .239 for April, .253 for May and .270 for June with an almost equal number of games in each month. His OBP and OPS lines are .338/.755 April, .333/.791 May and .441/.901 June. Trending upwards. That probably is what earns him a promotion plus the fact that the Pirates offense has disappeared.
Statistics can easily mislead but can also be a powerful analytical tool when used and read properly.
I’ve got Gonzo in one of my roto leagues so have made it a point to check his box score nightly. The one thing he’s done night after night is strike out. He’s got that figured out.
Castro didn’t earn his promotion either and there aren’t many on this team that has.
But they are in the midst of a horrible run producing few weeks have been shut out 3 times over the past week and they are hoping he can produce something more than the worthless Marcano, Castro and Bae infielders they currently have
with the number of guys who could play 2B for this team it would be nice if someone would step up and take the job but that hasn’t happened. Marcano has value because he can play short stop but he’s not a starter. Castro and Bae have been so frustrating to watch lately. Got to give Gonzo his chance, so hopefully he turns out to be an everyday player we all hoped he would.
Agreed.
I remember Neil Walker struggling through the upper minors as a highly touted draft pick and there was similar trepidation when he got the call to Pittsburgh. As a former C/3B he found a place at 2B, started to hit and went on to have a very solid career.
Let’s not write Gonzales off before he’s had chance to prove himself at the highest level.
Hopefully Cruz can come back and even better can still play ss. Marcano Castro is a solid platoon. But even better if Gonzales or someone knocks them out and they can be utility guys. Bae is much much better in outfield and should play there.
They’ve been playing Termarr Johnson at 2B. Maybe he’s the heir apparent. Certainly, all of these guys have looked interchangeably average so far
You know your scouting stinks when the #1 overall pick from just 2 years ago that you called up last week was the 74th rated prospect. The Pirates have had a lot of high draft picks in the last 7-8 years; are any of them superstars?
Or the ranking websites and scouts stink. I had 3 candidates for #1 and Davis was the safest and imo the best. He hasn’t done anything to disappoint.
nobody else from that class is burning it up and ML ready either.
Is it just me or does the timing of all these promotions just scream desperation from Cherington? Gonzales has not been lighting it up at AAA, yet seems to be an upgrade for the offense. Davis had just 10 games at AAA and is apparently not ready to catch at the major league level, yet seems to be an upgrade for the offense. A lot of prospects being promoted within the minors. It’s like GMBC is feeling the pressure that his rebuild is taking too long and is now trying to force the issue, rather than following the process he’s preached basically since he took the job. I sincerely hope this is him realizing his process was flawed rather than getting desperate for some overdo results.
These are I’m going to get fired in a couple years anyways so I might as well go down with my picks type moves.
Davis looked ready to me. Gonzales might have used a few more weeks but ready enough or as will ever be. Teams care about bats. If you wait for Davis Rodriguez to be good mlb catchers before they get called up they may never make it. They may not be catchers. If any prospect struggles you can send them back down. Tri Andu Alldred Shack Selby look ready for mlb look as well.
IIRC: Burrows had Tommy John yet he is still active on the 40man?
Swaggerty would probably be the move i make
Swaggerty is still on the IL
Velasquez on 15 IL and out for the year
No 60 day for minor league. A 40 man spot isn’t worth burning up service time.
Okay Bucs fans, who do you draft, Dylan Crews or Paul Skeens?
Skeens, dude is special. At least that’s who I’m hoping for.
120 pitches for Skenes last night!
Crews is a perfect fit for the Pirates.
He goes 120 often of late.
I wouldn’t rule out Langford or maybe even better Clark. Especially if available for less $. I only seen highlights of Clark but love his swing. Crews seems safest. I’m a safety girl. If they can improve Skenes change up he is a fine pick. Pitchers health is always a worry. Crews for me.
Whoever BC picks in the upcoming draft, our player development will find a way to make him worse
Both guys could quickly fill huge needs where there isn’t much of a cavalry coming over the hill
Skenes could probably start tomorrow
But this is kind of like the Meadows trade. Do you go with a guy who can win you perhaps 10+ games a year on the mound, or an everyday player who can contribute in many, many more?
I hated the Meadows trade for that very reason—a future everyday player with huge upside in return for an up and down pitcher who might win 5 games down the stretch and a few the next year
Our player development sucks, that’s the only thing I can come up with.
As a subscriber of the full MLB.tv package from overseas for most of the last ten to fifteen years… I’m fking fuming that I can’t access tonight’s game because of Apple+.
Just cancelled my monthly subscription with MLB, because if you’re gonna force me to find an alternative source then that’s what I will do.
Eff you Manfred and the owners who pull your strings.
Same as you can’t watch games on fox tbs espn fox sports. Nothing new. As a pirates fan you been spoiled by your team being so awful nobody wants to air their games nationally so they are always on mlbtv.
Multiple places give away apple tv for free. At worst they have pirates on 3 weeks in a row so pay the 7 bucks. But again it’s free 3 month trial.
I know this is an old thread, but FYI.. Dream – this IS a new thing for overseas subscribers. I can still access the Peacock games in the same way I’ve watched Fox and ESPN on MLB.tv for years.
The Apple deal is the first that has blacked out games for me as a foreign viewer – ironically on the same weekend that the Cubs/Cards played games in London that absolutely nobody in the UK watched.
Terrier, this is where broadcasting is going in the US. Within a few years, ESPN and most others are going to go to streaming packages that you’ll have to buy in order to watch games in any of the major sports from pro to college—now being made to ALSO pay in addition to your regular cable packages
It’s more corporate greed and for dinosaurs like me, it’ll bring watching games on TV to a merciful end.
I come from the era of black and white TV and three main broadcasting companies. Looks like we’ll be returning to basic “game of the week” type set-ups as in the olden days
Big money kills everything and now between legalized betting and this idea—-well, it’s time to head to the local ball fields and watch the kids play
oh the days of small television screens, shows in black and white, 3 channels to choose from
And after the late news, stations shut down and put their station emblem on the screen until the morning news comes back on
It almost makes me yearn for my youth
Put on When It Was A Game just for a blast from the past. 3 DVD’s and as you watch, you realize how money has changed everything, and not for the better
Yeah. I really do yearn for that bygone era.
I remember when my father gave myself and my brother a Westinghouse transistor radio.
I must have been about 12
Back in the 1960’s music was played on AM radio and listening to the Bucs games on KDKA Am was exciting
LESSS GOOO!
we’re getting no hit by a relief pitcher after 5 innings
This offense is pathetic
If not for one inning, you’d think the Marlins pitching staff were all Cy Young candidates. I know Reynolds is out but even when he’s playing, they seem to have one threat: Cutch, amazingly enough
I question Shelton’s decision to pinch hit for Suwinski, using Joe who has the 2nd worst batting average with runners in scoring position who strikes out with Cutch at second base and one out
Then I question why they directed Joe to lay down a bunt when he’s never sacrificed using a bunt in his major league career
Why not use Bae to pinch hit for Joe and use the bunt
Lastly I question why Shelton used his closer to pitch the 9th in a tie game then use him again to pitch the 10th inning
I had to laugh at the usage of Bednar. I mean, he *should have * used him the other night (Had to laugh when someone said they tried giving him two innings last year and it didn’t work out. Seriously?) and didn’t. Then he puts him in tonight, as if he either suddenly that yes, closers really can go more than an inning every so often OR he acknowledged what a lunkhead he was on Thursday
And his pinch hitting strategy? For a while I thought Shelton was simply struggling to find combinations, desperately trying to jump start the walking dead
But I was wrong
and to top off Shelton’s ludicrous decision to use Bednar for 2 innings, if there’s a potential save situation in today’s game, after having thrown 25 pitches in yesterday’s game, Bednar will be unavailable
SMH
This team makes the most average pitcher look like the reincarnation of Cy Young as their offense is that bad
I’ve only seen Gonzalez for a couple games now so others may have more insight but again, he falls into the mold of interchangeable, average middle infielders this team seems to have a corner on drafting
It’s almost incredible
I’d hoped that he was something in the Altuve mold, given his size but so far, it hasn’t been evident
So is it another case of wondering just who is scouting these guys again?
I like both Skenes and Crews as potential number 1 picks in the coming draft—especially Crews. But I won’t be surprised if they go off script and draft another middle infielder. Why not? It’s their niche
I appears that another niche of drafting middle infielders are those that swing at every pitch thrown in their general direction
other than Cutch and Davis how many #1 draft picks have become stars in the majors over the past two decades?
At this point I wouldn’t trust BC to draft his resignation letter without screwing it up
I will not apologize for my negativity, I’ve become numb to the consist failures of this franchise