{"id":31295,"date":"2020-05-08T13:05:56","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T17:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=31295"},"modified":"2020-06-06T01:24:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T05:24:47","slug":"nick-gonzales-2020-mlb-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/05\/08\/nick-gonzales-2020-mlb-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Gonzales 2020 MLB Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to think of too many collegiate prospects with better production than Nick Gonzales<\/a><\/strong> of New Mexico State. The second baseman should be one of the first players off the board come the MLB Draft<\/a>, thanks in large part to his wild success at the plate. During his first season at New Mexico, Gonzales turned heads by posting a .347\/.425\/.596 slash line in 230 plate appearances. Doing that as a 19-year old is no easy task, and he proved it wasn\u2019t a fluke.<\/p>\n

As a sophomore, Gonzales posted an absurd .432\/.532\/.773 slash line in 284 plate appearances. He was still 1.3 years younger than the average NCAA player, so his ability to perform like a star despite being on the younger side drew attention across scouting circles. He added to his already impressive scouting profile by hitting .351\/.451\/.630 in 185 summer league plate appearances.<\/p>\n

Somehow, Gonzales managed to be even better in 2020. During what would become his final collegiate season, the New Mexico State product posted an otherworldly .448\/.610\/1.155 slash line in 82 plate appearances. While these numbers may have gone down in a larger sample, there is no denying that he is among the best prospects in the 2020 MLB Draft.<\/p>\n

2020 MLB Draft Profile: Nick Gonzales<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Strengths<\/h3>\n

The first thing that jumps off the page with Gonzales is his contact ability<\/a>. As demonstrated by his high batting averages, Gonzales has a knack for making contact and hitting it where the fielders aren\u2019t. He only struck out 79 times in 596 NCAA plate appearances, with 39 of those coming as a freshman. He\u2019s quick to register pitches and he possesses above-average bat speed, which is always a good thing.<\/p>\n

Making contact is obviously a good thing, but Gonzales also possesses some power potential. Gonzales hit 37 home runs during his collegiate career, including 12 in his 16 games as a Junior. His seven career triples and 37 doubles show that he has the speed to get around the base paths and get the extra base whenever possible.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses\/MLB Comp<\/h3>\n

Honestly, most of the bad things about Gonzales are just nitpicks. The biggest concern with Gonzales is his relatively undersized frame. At 5\u2019-10\u201d and 190 pounds, Gonzales doesn\u2019t have the ideal build for a long major league career. Guys like Dustin Pedroia<\/a><\/strong> and Jose Altuve<\/a><\/strong> proved that elite talents can overcome smaller size, so this shouldn\u2019t be too big of an issue.<\/p>\n

In terms of on-field play, Gonzales isn\u2019t a great defender and has a pretty pedestrian arm. Most of the top middle-infield prospects have at least an outside shot of making it as a shortstop, but that possibility does not exist here. Thanks to his below-average arm and pedestrian range, his only path to the majors is at second base.<\/p>\n