Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Who Could Push For Promotions Early in the Season

Tres Gonzalez

The Pirates picked Tres Gonzalez in the fifth-round out of Georgia Tech. Gonzalez is currently stationed at Bradenton alongside fellow draft-class teammate Harrington. Although Gonzalez isn’t a power hitter, he’s shown off some other decent offensive tools that could help him work around his lack of raw power.

Gonzalez batted .339/.458/.474 through 290 plate appearances at Georgia. Impressively, he walked 45 times for a 15.5% walk rate. That may be outstanding, but he struck out at a rate just under 10% at 9.3%. In the power department, Gonzalez had an isolated slugging percentage, clocking at .135. He only made contact on five home runs but hustled out 14 doubles.

Gonzalez has only taken 103 plate appearances at Bradenton, but he’s looked pretty decent in that small sample size. He is currently hitting .322/.408/.389 with a 9.7% walk rate and has struck out in just 14.6% of his trips to the dish. His ISO clocks in well below .100 at .067, but he’s still been highly productive at a .382 wOBA and 137 wRC+, meaning he has been 37% better than the league-average batter. Gonzalez’s ability to get on base has only been made more effective by his eight-for-nine success rate on stolen bases.

The 2022 draft selection is a well above-average runner and has swiped bases more frequently than he did in college. He’s already swiped eight as a professional after swiping just 11 throughout 129 games at Georgia Tech. He’s generally considered a solid defensive outfielder who can handle center field. But he has a poor arm, so he may only be limited to center field and left field.

The lack of power makes him a risk, but there’s no doubt that he’s been great so far. He’ll need to continue to spray line drives over the field and his low-strikeout/high-walk rates to climb the ranks. But he’s already 22, which makes him older than Tsung-Che Cheng, Maikol Escotto, and the same age as Hudson Head, all of which are currently at Greensboro. It would be nice to see him take a step forward and get some recognition on the prospect scene.