It’s a good experience for some of the prospects and younger players in Major League camp on non-roster invites, as they get to face competition at a higher level than what they’ve played against previously.
They also get to see how Major League veterans go about their day-to-day to prepare for the season, which can be invaluable on it’s own.
There can be a downfall with it as well, depending on where you are on the depth chart and the position you play. The team you are with are going to prioritize the players that are either competing for a roster spot, or getting their regular starter ready for the season – so plate appearances may be hard to come by at times.
That could make it harder for some player’s to find a rhythm, but that wasn’t the case for Nick Gonzales.
Despite getting barely more than a plate appearance per game played (25 PA in 17 GP), the former first round pick put up some of the best offensive numbers on the team before getting reassigned to minor league camp over the weekend.
Gonzales slashed .391/.440/.522 with nine hits in 23 at-bats. Those nine hits were good to put himself in a tie for second on the team at the time of his reassignment.
The difference will always be the swing and miss for him, something I talked about early on this spring and how he has shown some improvements. He’s willing to take walks, which is always good, but a 16.2% swinging strike rate is a recipe for disaster going forward.
It was a good showing this spring for Gonzales, but there’s more work to be done. it will have to be done on the field, and he will have to show consistency while out there.
To this point in camp, there hasn’t been anyone who has stood out above one another yet. Gonzales won’t be the first option, since he isn’t on the 40-man roster, but the longer it takes for someone to take hold of the job, the more open the door gets for him to get a call.
Pirates Prospects Daily
By John Dreker
Pirates won 7-5 over Boston on Monday afternoon. Miguel Andujar homered. Luis Ortiz allowed two runs over three innings, lowering him to a 10.50 ERA this spring. Canaan Smith-Njigba had three hits. Here’s the boxscore.
Pirates are at home against the Philadelphia Phillies this afternoon. The lineup will be added below once it becomes available.
**Pirates Business: Options Remaining For the 2023 Pittsburgh Pirates
**Pirates Draft Prospect Watch: Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes Keep on Producing Big Numbers Our weekly look at the top draft prospects
**Pirates Prospect Daily: After a Strong Spring, What’s Next for Carmen Mlodzinski?
**Pirates DVR: Ke’Bryan Hayes Home Run, Mitch Keller Cutter
Song of the Day
Today’s Lineup
McCutchen is back from his minor elbow injury. TV game, 1:05 PM start
Back in Bradenton vs. the Phillies.
