Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Jacob Gonzalez Named FSL Player of the Month

A Pittsburgh Pirates farm hand took home a big honor for the month of April

While there was no Major League Rule 5 Draft this past offseason the minor league portion of the draft still took place. In the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates added multiple players. One of these players was first baseman Jacob Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, the son of former MLB All-Star and 2001 World Series hero Luis Gonzalez, was selected 58th overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2017 MLB Draft. After spending the first five years of his professional career with the Giants and failing to get above High-A, he was eligible for the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft where the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him.

So far this season Gonzalez has been one of the best hitters in the Pirate minor league system. Gonzalez is having a career year thus far and now he is starting to take home honors and pick up recognition for his strong start.

Following his start to the season with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders, Gonzalez has been named the Florida State League Player of the Month for April.

Through his first 94 plate appearances this season Gonzalez is hitting for a .410/.489/.667 slash line to go with a 232 wRC+. Gonzalez is drawing walks at an 8.5% rate, he has struck out in just 10.6% of his trips to the plate, and he’s hit 4 home runs while collecting a total of 12 extra base hits.

Gonzalez is already 23 and will turn 24 in June. Due to this his log-term future in the organization is a pretty big question mark. That said, there are always late bloomers who go to a new organization later in their career and it clicks. Perhaps this could be the case for Gonzalez.

Regardless of what the long-term future holds for Gonzalez, if he continues to hit this way he should find himself at High-A Greensboro, potentially soon. If his success continues to Greensboro he could find himself at Double-A by the end of the season.