When Nick Gonzales made his intention clear in spring training that he not only wanted to play in the major leagues for a long time but also to be an impact player, he still was viewed as a work in progress.
After Gonzales batted .209 in 35 games during his MLB debut last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates wanted the rookie second baseman to reconstruct his swing so he wouldn’t strike out and ground out so often.
His confidence carried Gonzales, a 2020 first-rounder who was Ben Cherington’s first draft pick as Pirates general manager, into a position of prominence. Gonzales believes he is capable of showing the stroke that made him college baseball’s best hitter as a junior at New Mexico State and a potential middle-of-the-order bat for the Pirates.
“I knew the adjustments that I had made and the player I was last year, from the beginning of 2023 to the end of the season, I was not the same guy,” Gonzales said. “I knew that in spring, regardless of what happened, whether I was sent to Indianapolis or I was here, that the work that I put in was going to come and show. It was just a matter of time and being patient with it.”
His patience has paid off, as Gonzales is slashing .319/.377/.536 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBIs through 19 games since being recalled from Triple-A on May 10. He immediately took advantage of playing time at second base after Jared Triolo shifted to third when Ke’Bryan Hayes was placed on the 10-day injured list.
Although Triolo has shown one of the best gloves in baseball — his six defensive runs saved are tied for third among all second basem*n — Gonzales has kept the starting job because of his bat, despite a minus-3 DRS. And he has batted fifth in the order in 12 of the past 19 games.
“He’s come up and just been a real catalyst in our lineup,” Cherington said May 26 on his weekly radio show on 93.7 FM. “He’s an aggressive, unique hitter. He’s been assertive and confident in that approach. He’s really quickly become an important part of the lineup.”
Nick Gonzales delivers his first career #walkoff for the @Pirates! pic.twitter.com/XDvFM7QJfZ
— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2024
Gonzales got off to a good start when he hit a two-run single in his first at-bat. He had a five-game hit streak that included a two-run homer at Milwaukee on May 14 and a solo shot two days later. Gonzales also had his first career walk-off hit: an RBI single in the 10th inning of a 7-6 win over San Francisco on May 21.
Gonzales has six multi-hit outings in his first 19 games, going 2 for 3 with a career-best four RBIs against Atlanta on May 24, and was batting .375 (6 for 16) with 11 RBIs with runners in scoring position entering the weekend series at Toronto.
No wonder Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Gonzales has improved “exponentially” since last season.
“He’s definitely provided a spark,” Shelton said Friday during 93.7 FM’s pregame radio show. “He’s done a really good job with runners in scoring position. I’m just really excited with the fact that this is a kid that went down, worked on something and he’s come back up, and we’re seeing the fruits of it.”
Gonzales’ short swing became detrimental last summer, when he had a 58.5% groundball rate and a 28.1% strikeout rate. What he found was that the barrel of his bat was coming up as it got further out, especially when he was early against off-speed and breaking pitches outside.
“It would make it difficult for me to put the barrel flush with the ball,” Gonzales said. “It would be coming upwards, so that’s why I’d hit the ball to third. It would look like I’m trying to yank the ball, but I really wasn’t. I just ran out of my room with my barrel.”
When Gonzales changed his stance to be more upright, he found that he was able to see pitches better so as to know when to lay off. He focused on keeping his swing level and on the same plane as it stretched it out and has cut his groundball rate to 25% and more than doubled his line drive rate, from 14.6% to 35.4, while reducing his strikeouts and increasing his walks.
“It’s been really exciting,” Gonzales said. “I asked for an honest truth, and it was given to me. Obviously, the resources we have are plentiful. Having someone be there to help you make those adjustments all throughout the way is huge for me.”
Gonzales got one of only three hits by the Pirates in the 8-0 loss Wednesday in the first game of the doubleheader at Detroit, then went 3 for 5 with a solo homer, a double and an RBI single in a 10-2 win over the Tigers in the second game. He had two of the Pirates’ six hits Friday at Toronto, including a leadoff single in the fifth that led to him scoring their first run in the 5-3, 14-inning loss to the Blue Jays.
Shelton is impressed with how Gonzales responded to not making the Opening Day roster by batting .358/.431/.608 with 14 doubles, four homers and 19 RBIs in 35 games at Indianapolis, earning himself a promotion amid the Pirates’ offensive struggles.
“The big leagues will not do anything but tell you what you can and cannot do,” Shelton said. “It goes back to the gap. Sometimes in Triple-A, Double-A you can get away with things. The thing with Nick Gonzales — and I think it happened with Triolo a little bit last year, too — is that the big leagues will show you. It will punch you in the mouth a little bit, and then you have to adapt and adjust.
“Nick had a pretty good spring and legitimately could have made our team. We thought it was important with what he was working on to go down and get the everyday reps that he needed to do it. And he’s done it, and it has translated back to really really good major league at-bats.”
Gonzales wants to become a fixture at one of the deepest positions in the organization, with a depth chart that includes Triolo and Alika Williams in the majors and top-10 prospects Liover Peguero at Triple-A and 2022 first-round pick Termarr Johnson at High-A Greensboro. Gonzales isn’t looking behind him, focusing instead on his play for the Pirates.
“I’m just glad I can help. I’m glad I can be here and make an impact,” Gonzales said. “My goal the whole offseason was to be here again and prove that my short stint last year was not who I was and that I’m a better player.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
