CIN
Nick Gonzales, IF
Edit player ✎
Baseball Reference →
FanGraphs →
MLB →
Scouting report
Scouts and executives who really liked Gonzales pre-draft compared his profile to that of pre-draft Keston Hiura. They have similar builds, their hitting hands work in a similar, aesthetically-pleasing loop, and like Hiura, Gonzales also faced questions about his ultimate defensive fit, albeit for different reasons. The altitude at New Mexico State (Las Cruces is 3,900 feet above sea level) aided his offensive output there (he had a .399/.502/.747 career line), but his 2019 Cape Cod line (.351/.451/.630 with wood bats against great pitching) carried a ton of weight in draft rooms, and it certainly didn't hurt that in the weeks leading up to the COVID shutdown, Gonzales went on an epic heater and homered 12 times in 16 games. Despite the huge power output, Gonzales' offensive skill set is more well-rounded, and he's also been described to me as "a good hitter with some power" rather than a middle-of-the order force of some kind. I don't think he has the barrel accuracy or striking power of Hiura, but Gonzales is really difficult to beat with velocity in the strike zone and has the strength and plate coverage to drive fastballs the opposite way. He'll also scoop and yank hanging breaking balls toward the left field seats, but the home run pop here is more mistake-dependent than it is a constant worry for opposing pitchers. He'll need to become more fundamentally sound around the bag at second to stay there (I think he'll initially play shortstop in pro ball but move to the keystone relatively soon), but if he can then Gonzales pretty comfortably profiles as a solid everyday player. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)