Nick Gonzales

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.