Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Four Hit Day in the AFL for Nick Gonzales
A four hit night form Nick Gonzales highlighted the performances of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects in the Arizona Fall League on Thursday
Throughout the Arizona Fall League season, Pittsburgh Pirates prospects have been finding success for the Surprise Saguaros. This continued on Thursday as a quartet of Pirate prospects helped the Saguaros pick up an 8-2 victory. With the win, the Saguaros are now 19-10 in AFL play.
No players played a bigger role in Surprise’s victory on Thursday than Pirate infield prospect Nick Gonzales. Starting at second base before sliding over to third base, the 7th overall pick in the 2020 draft was 4-for-5.
As part of his four-hit campaign, Gonzales hit his 4th double of the AFL and drove in a pair of runs. Gonzales has had a very strong showing in the AFL. In 77 plate appearances, he now owns an .851 OPS.
Blake Sabol was also in the lineup for the Saguaros, starting behind the dish at catcher. Sabol went 2-for-4 with his 2nd double of the AFL season and a run scored. The left-handed hitting Sabol now owns a .685 OPS in 55 PAs this fall. Sabol also allowed a passed ball while behind the dish.
Starting at first base was Pirate prospect Jacob Gonzalez. The right-handed hitting Gonzalez reached base each time he stepped to the plate, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, his 2nd double, two runs scored, and two RBI. Gonzalez now has 36 PAs in the AFL and a .614 OPS. It should be noted, however, that Gonzalez’s .614 OPS is noteworthy considering he started the AFL season 0-for-9. He has heated up at the plate since then.
Right-handed relief pitching prospect Tahnaj Thomas pitched an inning out of the bullpen for the Saguaros. The hard-throwing Thomas walked a batter, but also struck a batter out in a hitless, scoreless inning pitched.
After the outing Thomas continues to work toward bringing his ERA down. Due to one poor outing this fall it continues to be a ballooned 9.64. However, he has struck out 11 batters in 9.1 innings pitched.