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Nick Gonzales

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Nick Gonzales
Gonzales with the Indianapolis Indians in 2023
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 39
Second baseman / Shortstop
Born: (1999-05-27) May 27, 1999 (age 25)
Vail, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 23, 2023, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.255
Home runs9
Runs batted in62
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Nicholas Joseph Gonzales (born May 27, 1999) is an American baseball second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected seventh overall by the Pirates in the 2020 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

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Gonzales attended Cienega High School in Vail, Arizona. He hit .399 with 89 runs batted in (RBIs) for Cienega's baseball team.[1]

Gonzales enrolled at New Mexico State University and played college baseball for the New Mexico State Aggies. As a freshman in 2018, Gonzales hit .347/.425/.596 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs over 57 games.[2] He was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.[3] As a sophomore in 2019, he led the nation with a .432 batting average.[4] He finished the season hitting .432/.532/.773 with 16 home runs and 80 RBIs.[5] After the season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League, where was named the MVP of the league after batting .351 with seven home runs over 42 games.[6][7][8]

Gonzales entered his junior year in 2020 as a top prospect for the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[9][10] He batted .448 with 12 home runs over 16 games before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Professional career

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The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gonzales in the first round, with the seventh overall selection, in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[12] On June 23, Gonzales signed with the Pirates for a reported signing bonus of $5.4 million.[13] He did not play a game after signing due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

Gonzales made his professional debut in 2021 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the High-A East, slashing .302/.385/.565 with 18 home runs and 54 RBIs over eighty games.[15] He missed over a month during the season due to a hand injury.[16] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas where he was named to the Fall Stars game.[17] Gonzales played for the Altoona Curve of the Double-A Eastern League in 2022, where he hit .263 with 7 home runs and 33 RBI across 71 contests.[18]

Gonzales began the 2023 season with the Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A International League. In 57 games for Indianapolis, he hit .257/.370/.450 with 6 home runs and 27 RBI.[19] On June 23, 2023, the Pirates selected Gonzales to the 40-man roster and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.[20] In 35 games during his rookie campaign, he batted .209/.268/.348 with two home runs and 13 RBI.

Gonzales was optioned to Triple–A Indianapolis to begin the 2024 season.[21] On May 9, 2024, he was recalled by the Pirates.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Gonzales Puts up Huge Offensive Numbers". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. April 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Morales, Javier (March 21, 2019). "Former Cienega Standout Nick Gonzales A Hit With New Mexico State". allsportstucson.com.
  3. ^ Dykstra, Sam (May 1, 2020). "Toolshed: Gonzales a reminder of Cape effect".
  4. ^ Lemaire, Mike (January 30, 2020). "Nick Gonzales Has More Than MLB On His Mind". www.baseballamerica.com.
  5. ^ "Nick Gonzales Could Jump on Fast Track". January 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Gerson, Aria (July 11, 2019). "Previously undervalued, Nick Gonzales has emerged as a top pro prospect". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Richard, Mike (August 5, 2019). "Cotuit's Nick Gonzales named CCBL Most Valuable Player". Barnstable Patriot. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "#15 Nick Gonzales". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Tucson native Nick Gonzales is a first-round talent". Arizona Daily Star. August 31, 2019.
  10. ^ Martinez, Justin. "Gonzales and the Aggies are reloaded for 2020 baseball season". Las Cruces Sun-News.
  11. ^ Hall, Erik (May 20, 2020). "Nick Gonzales: 4 things to know about the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball infielder". Las Cruces Sun-News.
  12. ^ Spears, Justin (June 11, 2020). "Pirates pick Tucson's Nick Gonzales seventh in MLB draft; Yankees take UA catcher". Arizona Daily Star.
  13. ^ "'Unbelievable': Gonzales thrilled to be with Bucs". MLB.com.
  14. ^ West, Jenna (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled". Sports Illustrated.
  15. ^ Buchanan, Zach. "The swing change that took Pirates prospect Nick Gonzales from college walk-on to first-round talent". The Athletic.
  16. ^ Mackey, Jason (May 21, 2021). "Pirates 2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzales out 4–6 weeks with hand injury". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  17. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (October 22, 2021). "Gonzales making up for lost time in AFL". MLB.com.
  18. ^ "Pirates prospect Nick Gonzales not sweating slow start with Altoona". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  19. ^ "Pirates' Nick Gonzales: Called up Friday". cbssports.com. June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  20. ^ Guerriero, Justin (June 23, 2023). "Pirates call up 2020 1st-round draft pick Nick Gonzales from Triple-A". TribLIVE.com.
  21. ^ "Roansy Contreras shifting to bullpen role the highlight among several Pirates moves". post-gazette.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  22. ^ "Nick Gonzales is being recalled to join the Pirates". Rum Bunter. May 9, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
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