Pirates former 2020 first round selection, and current top 5 organizational prospect, Nick Gonzales, is heading into 2023 with his eyes set high. Gonzales is coming off of a 2022 season where he struggled with injury, making 2023 a big year for the second baseman. Today, we’ll take a look at Nick Gonzales, and what to expect from the second baseman in 2023 as he looks to continue his rise to stardom on the AAA Indianapolis Indians roster.

Gonzales’ MiLB Career Before 2022

As previously mentioned in the introduction, Gonzales was a first round selection by the Pirates back in 2020 (Number 7 overall), and has been an incredibly valuable piece to the Pirates ever since. Gonzales started out his career with the Pirates Taxi Squad, following signing with the Pirates for over $5.4 million after the draft. With the 2020 season having heavy COVID-19 restrictions, there wasn’t much for Gonzales to do besides practice with the organization’s other top prospects.

Though, the next season Gonzales made the jump straight to A+ Greensboro, where he was amazing. In Greensboro, we saw Gonzales’ talents on full display, as he hit 18 homers, drove in 54 runners, a BB% of 10.8%, .405 wOBA, and a 150 wRC+. Gonzales was overall a really solid addition to an already deep Pirates system, and helped carry the Grasshoppers to the championship, where they unfortunately fell short. Gonzales also earned MLB Pipeline’s honor of being the top second baseman in their rankings, which was an incredibly high honor. Fangraphs gave Gonzales amazing grades on his tools, including a 30/35 hit tool, 45/50 game power grade, 55/55 raw power, 60/60 speed, and a 40/45 fielding grade.

As Gonzales started to climb the rankings and get the eyes of the nation on him, people started to notice just how good he was capable of being. Many scouts took notice of Gonzales’ sneaky power tool, and overall smooth swing which leads to many base hits. Gonzales is one of baseball’s best bat to ball hitters, making him an incredibly valuable prospect.

Gonzales Rises to Double A Altoona

Following his very impressive 80 game stint with the Greensboro Grasshoppers in 2021, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to promote Gonzales to the Double A affiliate, Altoona Curve. Gonzales was off to a slow start, leading many to think Gonzales was going to struggle to make the transition to Double A. Gonzales was starting to catch fire in late May, before unfortunately suffering a bad foot injury during a play at first base in early June.

Gonzales was then transferred to the 7-day injured list before eventually being transferred to the 60-day injured list. Gonzales wouldn’t begin his rehab assignment to work back to Altoona until the beginning of August, where he would start with the FCL Pirates, and work his way back. Gonzales would come back to Altoona on August 12th, where he would finish the season on fire for the Curve. Gonzales would finish the regular season hitting 7 homers, 47 RBI, 13.6% BB%, .365 wOBA, and a 127 wRC+.

Arizona Fall League and Leaguewide Overreactions

Many people across the baseball world would begin overreacting when it came to Gonzales, as he dropped from MLB Pipeline’s top second baseman, down to the 5th best second baseman, and completely off MLB Pipeline’s top 100. This is a serious overreaction, because when it came to his stats, Gonzales was very similar to his 2021 season besides when it came to home runs. Gonzales is still one of MiLB’s most gifted infielders, and his numbers are clear proof he is still more than elite.

Nick would then go on to play in the Arizona Fall League, where he would hit very well. Gonzales hit 3 homers, drove in 14 runs, slashed .279/.351/.500, with a .851 OPS. Gonzales would overall play well, gaining more respect from around the league.

Gonzales in 2023, What to Expect

After Gonzales’ past two solid seasons, there is no doubt in my mind that we can expect more from Gonzales in 2023. With inside sources telling me that Gonzales will be starting the season at triple A Indianapolis, this should be the biggest test in his career yet. Due to Gonzales hitting well against top talent at the Arizona Fall League, I can’t imagine that Gonzales will struggle against the talent at triple A.

My stat projections for Gonzales in 2023 would be 12 homers, 44 RBI, 12.7% BB%, .377 wOBA, and a 137 wRC+. These numbers would be on par with both his 2021 season, and 2022 seasons. These numbers would likely earn Gonzales a callup to the Major Leagues by the end of the season, especially with current question marks at second base. With both Rodolfo Castro and Ji-hwan Bae not playing well this spring, and veteran Chris Owings currently having the best numbers of all three, there’s a good chance the Pirates try to get Gonzales into the lineup by the end of the season.

Conclusion

Gonzales has stayed consistent throughout his time in the Minors thus far, there’s really no doubt in my mind Gonzales won’t play similarly this upcoming season. Many people seriously overreacted when it came to Gonzales in 2022, and it’s time to recognize him for his elite overall talents and skill.