Edgar Gonzalez

Signed at 17 out of Mexico, Gonzalez has generally been more polished than other pitchers his age. That's led to mixed results at upper levels; of particular concern is that he's never struck out even seven men a game in any season above Double-A. He's a back-end rotation guy and a poor fit in Chase Field.

Those Triple-A numbers from last season aren't bad given the Tucson setting, but Gonzalez' last two auditions at the MLB level have been god-awful. He gave up 10 runs in just an inning-plus in 2004, and then went walk-walk-double-strikeout-homer in a five-batter outing against the Royals in June 2005. He's a fringe candidate for a rotation spot in 2006, but even in deep NL-only leagues, there are more promising prospects.

Gonzalez didn't really get a crack at Arizona's rotation until mid-July (rather amazing considering how poorly they were playing) and after a rough beginning, he actually strung together four consecutive quality starts in August (3.69 ERA in 24.3 IP). Then came a disaster on Labor Day weekend in San Francisco in which Gonzalez gave up 10 runs before getting anyone out in the second inning. After another poor outing, he was simply benched for the rest of the year. He's still got a lot of potential, so the D-Backs will likely give him another chance to claim a rotation spot in the spring.

With all of the injuries in Arizona's rotation last year, Gonzalez got called up to the show a year-or-so early in 2003 and didn't do too badly, given the circumstances. He'll get a shot at a rotation spot in 2004, but it's an outside chance, given the competition, so we'll have to see what the D-Backs decide to do if they're faced with a choice of starting the year with Gonzalez in the major league bullpen or the Triple-A rotation, as Gonzalez has options left.

Gonzalez went a combined 14-8, 2.63 in 27 starts split between Arizona's two Single-A teams in 2002. Not overpowering, but good control (131 K's, 37 walks in 174 innings). Went 8-0, 1.65 in his first ten starts for Hermosillo in Mexican winter ball. He'll turn just 20 in the spring and start 2003 at Double-A, probably gets a crack at the show in 2005.