Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Nick Gonzales Needs Promoted to Double-A

2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzales has done nothing but hit with High-A Greensboro and should be promoted to Double-A Altoona to finish the season

With the 7th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected New Mexico State University infielder Nick Gonzales. The right-handed hitting Gonzales was viewed as the top college hitter entering the draft, making him a prospect people believed could quickly climb through a farm system.

After the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Gonzales he reported to the team’s alternate training site. Gonzales spent the remainder of the 2020 season at the alternate training site where he turned heads.

Following his performance at the alternate training site the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to have Gonzales skip the Low-A level, sending him to High-A Greensboro when the 2021 minor league season begun. With this move the Pirates showed they are confident in Gonzales and his ability to hit right away.

Gonzales has missed over a month this season due to a broken finger. Despite this, he has done nothing but hit for the Greensboro Grasshopper. In 272 plate appearances across 60 games with the Grasshoppers this season Gonzales has hit for a .298/.368/.514 slash line. His isolated slugging (ISO) is .216, he’s walked in 8.5% of his trips to the plate and his wRC+ is a healthy 135. Gonzales has hit 10 home runs and collected extra base hits at an 11.0% rate.

With his performance at the High-A level this season Gonzales needs to be promoted to Double-A Altoona. If not for the finger injury that cost Gonzales over a month of play, odds are, he would already be with Altoona.

The Curve have just 25 games remaining this season. In these 25 games Gonzales could gain valuable experience at the Double-A level. This could also set Gonzales up to make his MLB debut during the 2022 season.

Gonzales has done nothing but hit for the Grasshoppers this season. Being an advanced college bat coming out of the draft Gonzales needs to climb quickly through the Pirate farm system. The next step in this happening is Gonzales being promoted to Double-A Altoona.

The Pittsburgh Pirates should be looking to get Gonzales to the Majors as quickly as they can. The next step in doing this is to have Gonzales finish the 2021 season with Double-A Altoona. By doing this Gonzales can be set up to make his MLB debut during the summer of 2022.