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Pittsburgh Pirates Take Nick Gonzales with Seventh Overall Draft Pick (UPDATED)

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With the seventh overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected New Mexico State second baseman Nick Gonzales. He was announced as a shortstop.

Gonzales played in a very high offensive environment in college so it was hard to get a good feel on how his bat will translate to the pros, but he added some confidence for scouts by putting up strong numbers in the Cape Cod League over the summer. His team’s schedule was suspended after 16 games this year, and he had a .448/.610/1.155 slash line, with 12 home runs.

Gonzales has shown some power this year and over the past summer, but he probably won’t be putting up big power as a pro. He profiles more as a high OBP guy who might top out at 15-20 homers a season. He’s an athletic players, who stands 5’10”, 190 pounds and has above average speed, with solid defense at second base. How that will translate to shortstop full-time is unknown at this point, but he’s selected for his bat/speed, so even if he eventually moves back to second base it’s fine.

He’s basically a solid all-around player, who excels at getting on base, and should get his share on extra-base hits. He should move through the minor league system quickly because he’s a polished player offensively and defensively (at second base). He turned 21 years old right before the draft.

There will be more on Gonzales later from the Pirates.

Here are some 2020 highlights

The Cape Cod League video was taken down since last night, so instead I’m adding this video where former MLB player Matt Antonelli, a first round pick, breaks down Gonzales and his swing

Here’s a third video if the first two weren’t enough

UPDATE From the Pirates:

“We are excited to select Nick Gonzales with our first pick,” said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. “Nick has been an elite college performer as a middle infielder both at New Mexico State and summer seasons. We’re equally impressed with the consistent improvement Nick has made since high school. Our area scout, Derrick Van Dusen, and regional crosschecker, Jesse Flores, did great work getting to know Nick as a person and player. We look forward to working with him in a Pirates uniform.”

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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