Nick Gonzales

25-Year-Old Second Baseman2B

Pittsburgh Pirates

2024 Stats

AVG

.319

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Gonzales was once viewed the second baseman of the future in Pittsburgh, though as he's risen through the minor-league system, his strikeout rate has followed suit. Despite punching out at a 26.6 percent rate at Triple-A Indianapolis to start the 2023 season, he was promoted to the majors on June 23. As could be projected due to his struggles in the minors, Gonzales struggled in his first taste of big-league pitching by posting just a 64 wRC+ with a horrific .268 wOBA across 213 plate appearances. As a result, he was demoted back to Indianapolis in August, leaving Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae to man second base. Gonzales will now enter 2024 in competition for the starting second base job with that duo. The good news is that neither of Bae nor Peguero were exceptional in their 2023 sample, though this is likely Gonzales's last chance to prove he won't turn into the latest disappointment in Pittsburgh. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#601

ADP

League Majors

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'10"

Weight 190

DOB 5/27/1999

Born Vail, AZ

College New Mexico State

Drafted 1st Rd 2020 PIT

Four hits in twin bill

2BPittsburgh Pirates

May 29, 2024

Gonzales went 4-for-9 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader split with the Tigers.

ANALYSIS
The Pirates were blanked in the opener and managed only three hits in total off Tarik Skubal and the Detroit bullpen, but Gonzales had one of them. The 25-year-old second baseman really came to life in the second contest, as he launched a solo shot off Keider Montero in the fourth inning and was a key part of a 10-2 rout by Pittsburgh. Gonzales has hit safely in 13 of the last 15 games as he solidifies his spot in the Bucs' lineup, batting .328 (19-for-58) over that stretch with three homers, a steal, nine runs and 14 RBI.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2024 MLB Game Log

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Scoring

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2023 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+15%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+25%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+11%

OPS vs RHP

2022

No Stats

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.662	72	7	2	7	0	.200	.278	.385
Since 2022vs Right	.763	134	16	3	22	2	.277	.326	.437
2024vs Left	.792	29	2	1	4	0	.259	.310	.481
2024vs Right	.988	49	9	2	12	2	.357	.417	.571
2023vs Left	.572	43	5	1	3	0	.158	.256	.316
2023vs Right	.637	85	7	1	10	0	.234	.274	.364
2022vs Left	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022vs Right	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+8%

OPS at Home

2024

+21%

OPS on Road

2023

+39%

OPS at Home

2022

No Stats

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.757	97	11	2	17	2	.241	.323	.434
Since 2022Away	.702	109	12	3	12	0	.257	.296	.406
2024Home	.814	35	5	0	8	2	.276	.400	.414
2024Away	.982	43	6	3	8	0	.350	.357	.625
2023Home	.723	62	6	2	9	0	.222	.279	.444
2023Away	.520	66	6	0	4	0	.197	.258	.262
2022Home	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2022Away	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
More Splits→	View More Split Stats

Stat Review

How does Nick Gonzales compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.26

BB Rate

6.4%

K Rate

24.4%

BABIP

.396

ISO

.217

AVG

.319

OBP

.377

SLG

.536

OPS

.913

wOBA

.390

Exit Velocity

91.1 mph

Hard Hit Rate

42.3%

Barrels/PA

10.3%

Expected BA

.293

Expected SLG

.534

Sprint Speed

25.3 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

21.6%

Line Drive %

29.4%

Fly Ball %

49.0%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Nick Gonzales Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Nick Gonzales See More

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2 days ago

Dan Marcus reviews some points league strategies and recommends taking a chance on a potential breakout player like Nick Gonzales rather than sticking with an established mediocrity.

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5 days ago

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7 days ago

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9 days ago

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Lineup Lowdown: National League

10 days ago

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Latest Fantasy Rumors

May join taxi squad in late September

2BPittsburgh Pirates

September 7, 2020

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Gonzales could be among the prospects that report to Pittsburgh when the organization closes its alternate training site in Altoona around Sept. 18, Jason Mackey of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

ANALYSIS
The No. 7 overall pick in June's first-year player draft, Gonzales has yet to make his professional debut while the 2020 minor-league season has been cancelled, but he's already seemingly solidified his status as the organization's top prospect. Regarded as an advanced hitter coming out of New Mexico State, Gonzales was drafted as a college shortstop, but Pittsburgh has since converted him to second base, where he was always viewed as a better fit defensively. Gonzales has apparently adapted well to the position change while working out and playing in simulated games at Altoona, and he could gain some further seasoning if the Pirates elect to send him to Pittsburgh for the final week and a half of the season. The non-contending Pirates are unlikely to formally add Gonzales to the active roster and begin his service clock later this month, but his presence on Pittsburgh's taxi squad could signal that the organization views him as someone who could contribute at the big-league level at some point in 2021.

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2022

2021

Gonzales progressed to Double-A Altoona in 2022, though he had a season highlighted by injury and strikeout problems. He missed over two months of action due to a heel issue, limiting him to only 316 plate appearances. The results in that sample were a mixed bag, as he managed an impressive .365 wOBA and 127 wRC+. There were also signs that he was translating his considerable raw power into game power, as his pull rate increased from 36 to 43 percent and his flyball rate spiked from 36 to 49 percent. Perhaps he sold out for power, as his strikeout rate remained inflated, and he's now struck out at a 27.4 percent and 28.5 percept clip in his two seasons as a professional. Despite some unexpected downside in his profile, Gonzales remains a key part of the Pirates' future and is a top-100 fantasy prospect -- even if his stock has fallen. It's possible that he makes his big-league debut at some point in 2023, though he'll likely spend most of his campaign with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Gonzales, the No. 7 overall pick in 2020, suffered a broken pinky a few weeks into his first pro season and was slow to get into a groove after returning in late June. However, he finished the year on fire, hitting .335/.430/.625 with 14 home runs over his final 56 games at High-A. He kept mashing to the tune of a .380/.483/.549 slash line in 19 games in the Arizona Fall League. All told, he had a 25.2 K%, 11.6 BB%, 20 home runs and 11 steals in 99 games. Gonzales has an explosive swing with bat speed and torque that allow him to hit for significant power out of a 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame. He gets the ball in the air with ease (35.6 GB% at High-A), but his strikeout rates were a tad high for a 22-year-old at those levels. He also played in one of the more homer-prone parks (Greensboro) in the minors last season, hitting .265/.373/.435 on the road. Gonzales is an above-average runner and does enough damage when he makes contact that we can expect high batting averages on balls in play, but key aspects of his profile are still unclear, particularly where his bat-to-ball skill and game power will settle in the coming years. He could be a five-category No. 2 hitter if he maxes out. We should learn a lot as he heads to the upper levels for his final full season in the minors.

Gonzales fell to the Pirates with the seventh pick in last year's draft, but he is the clear third pick in first-year player drafts for dynasty leagues, behind Spencer Torkelson and Austin Martin. A 5-foot-10, 190-pound offensive-minded second baseman, Gonzales didn't appeal to certain teams at the top of the draft, but he has a chance to develop into a No. 2 or No. 3 hitter in the majors. We can downgrade his video game numbers at altitude with New Mexico State, but he proved in the Cape Cod League in 2019 that he is a special offensive prospect. He showed off his strength and bat speed by slashing .351/.451/.630 with seven home runs and a 22:20 K:BB in 42 games with a wood bat en route to MVP honors in the Cape. He boasts above-average speed but has not looked to run much, going 19-for-23 on stolen-base attempts in 173 games. Gonzales should open at High-A and could reach the majors in 2022.

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