Thursday’s decision by the Pittsburgh Pirates to option Nick Gonzales to the minor leagues indicates his stock is dropping. Gonzales was the Pirates No. 1 draft pick in the 2020 June Amateur Draft. He entered spring training expecting to compete with Liover Peguero for the starting second baseman position. Jared Triolo, ticketed for a Swiss army knife-type role, elbowed his way into the second base competition by continuing his hot hitting from 2023. It was a surprise when Peguero, who was also performing well this spring, was optioned to the minors on Friday. It was no surprise when Gonzales was sent down.
Gonzales, 24, hit a combined .284/.382/.506, 39 home runs, and 140 RBI across all minor league levels from 2021-23. The Pirates value on-base skills, and Gonzales has shown that in the minor leagues. However, he’s also struck out an alarming 312 times in 1,139 plate appearances there, or 27.4 percent of the time. In two stints with the Pirates in 2023, he hit just .209/.268/.348. The strikeout trend continued in the majors. Gonzales struck out in 28.1 percent of his plate appearances with the Pirates in 2023. He was also well below major-league average in exit velocity, hard-hit ball percentage, and line drive percentage. This is not to say he didn’t have any good moments. There just weren’t enough of them.
What to Do with Nick Gonzales?
A Utility Role?
Oddly, although Gonzales was ostensibly in the second base competition, almost from the beginning of spring training he was used as if he were under consideration for a utility role. He didn’t take the field at second base until his third spring game. He appeared in 14 games and started at second base in only four of them. All told, he played second base seven times, shortstop four times, and third base four times and was used as the designated hitter twice.
In the exhibition games, Gonzales was 9-for-35 at the plate with one home run. His main competition in the utility-infielder sweepstakes was light-hitting shortstop Alika Williams, obtained in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays last season. As the final roster begins to take shape, Triolo has won the second base job. Williams will be the backup infielder despite hitting 6-for-38 in the spring and .198/.270/.248 last season. Meanwhile, Gonzales will have to make an impression in the minor leagues.
The Second Baseman of the Future
Baseball is different from football and basketball in that its draft generally doesn’t produce players who will have an immediate impact. Thus, it makes sense to draft the best player available, regardless of positional needs on the major league level. So, in 2022 general manager Ben Cherington used the Pirates first pick on Termarr Johnson out of high school. The diminutive Johnson was a shortstop in high school but has been converted to a second baseman. He won’t turn 20 until June and has yet to play as high as Double-A. However, his skills and baseball acumen are off the charts. He was 8-for-23, including two home runs, with the Pirates this spring. He’s expected to ascend rapidly through the system and reach the majors ahead of schedule.
The Second Baseman of the Present
Triolo was drafted as a third baseman out of the University of Houston in 2019. With Ke’Bryan Hayes anchored at that spot under a long-term contract, there appeared to be no future for Triolo as a regular with the Pirates. Thus, the Pirates set out to convert him into a utility player. From 2021-23 in the minors, Triolo hit .294/.382/.450 and struck out just 20.2 percent of the time. Eventually, he caught the attention of the Pirates brain trust and earned a promotion in 2023.
With the big club last year, Triolo hit .298/.388/.398. His strikeout ratio was 30.1, but based on his minor league record, that appears correctable. The experts say that last year’s performance in the majors was an illusion due to an unsustainable .440 BABIP. But he also hit line drives at a 32.8 percent rate, well above the 23.9 percent MLB average. The analytics-driven Pirates don’t seem too perturbed by the so-called experts’ analysis.
The Last Word
Having been drafted out of college himself, the Pirates probably hoped that Gonzales would step into a regular major league role right away, instead of holding competitions for the second base job these past two springs. But unlike Triolo, he’s not made the most of his opportunities, and as Triolo grew, Gonzales shrank.
This is not to say the Pirates have completely given up on Gonzales. They can’t afford to give up on anybody. Gonzales has power and might be just one good season or half-season in the minor leagues from a promotion to the big club. For now, like Peguero, Gonzales will be helped by consistent playing time in the minors rather than waiting his turn in the majors. However, Gonzales needs to make it happen fast. Once Johnson advances to triple-A, one wonders where Gonzales fits with the Pirates. Is Gonzales destined to languish in the minor leagues? The clock is ticking.
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