Nick Gonzales

A lightly recruited walk-on to New Mexico State, Gonzales turned himself into one of the nation's top draft prospects through sheer hard work. He hit .432/.532/.773 as a sophomore, leading the nation in batting average, and was named an All-American. He continued to post video game-like numbers with 12 home runs in 82 plate appearances this spring before his junior season ended. Gonzales' big numbers came playing in extreme hitting environments, but he proved his bat is for real with a star turn in the Cape Cod League last summer. He hit seven home runs and was named league MVP, alleviating concerns he would struggle against better pitching. Gonzales is the prototypical baseball rat, though he has more innate hitting ability than most gritty, gamer types. He has elite bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline, and his strong hands allow him to make hard contact to all fields. He consistently finds the barrel and has excellent natural timing, allowing scouts to project 15-20 home runs even though he's undersized. Gonzales has above-average speed and good baserunning instincts, which should help him steal plenty of bases as well. A second baseman his first two seasons, Gonzales moved to shortstop this year to showcase himself prior to the draft. Opinions are mixed whether he can handle the position, with most observers wanting to put him at second base and just let him be an elite hitter at the position. While he has solid arm strength, scouts believe he might be stretched in the hole, and he lacks the short-area quickness teams prefer in their shortstops. He’s a solid defender at the keystone, with improving footwork and hands and the ability to throw from various arm slots. With his tremendous track record of hitting and a strong Cape performance, Gonzales should go off the board among the first five picks. Scouts see him developing into an All-Star level second baseman who competes for batting titles at his peak.