Erik Gonzalez

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2009
DSL:  248/307/312, 234 AB, 9 2B, 3 3B, 15 BB, 36 K, 14-16 SB

In his debut, Gonzalez played mostly at second and a little at short.  He didn’t do much on offense besides show some speed.

2010
DSL:  346/384/442, 240 AB, 18 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 14 BB, 19 K, 9-13 SB

The Indians sent Gonzalez back to the DSL, where this time he played nearly everywhere, including first and the outfield corners.  He made significant progress at the plate.

2011
R:  258/316/346, 159 AB, 2 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 12 BB, 31 K, 5-6 SB

In the Arizona League, Gonzalez hit more like he had in his debut.  He split his time between first and third.

2012
A-:  220/264/299, 214 AB, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 BB, 50 K, 9-10 SB

Gonzalez served as a corner utility player in the New York-Penn League and had a rough time, hitting very little and struggling to make contact.

2013
A:  259/307/439, 355 AB, 23 2B, 7 3B, 9 HR, 24 BB, 72 K, 15-19 SB
A+:  242/259/366, 153 AB, 9 2B, 5 3B, 5 BB, 38 K, 1-3 SB

Still playing third, Gonzalez went to low A and had a much better year, mainly in the form of increased power.  He moved up to high A late in the season and also moved to short.  Despite the fact that he mostly struggled at the plate, he impressed enough on defense that Baseball America rated him the Indians’ 19th best prospect.  Cleveland added him to the 40-man roster after the season.

2014
A+:  289/336/409, 308 AB, 14 2B, 7 3B, 3 HR, 23 BB, 65 K, 15-21 SB
AA:  357/390/473, 129 AB, 6 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 7 BB, 23 K, 6-7 SB

The Indians kept Gonzalez at short and he had a better all-around year at the plate, especially after moving up to AA late in the year.  He continued to play well defensively and BA rated him the team’s 8th best prospect.  Gonzalez missed a little time with a finger injury, which may be why the Indians were able to get an extra option for him.

2015
AA:  280/304/421, 311 AB, 18 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 11 BB, 56 K, 10-15 SB
AAA:  223/277/311, 238 AB, 6 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 15 BB, 47 K, 8-10 SB

Gonzalez split the season between AA and AAA.  He hit reasonably well in AA, albeit with poor plate discipline.  He struggled in AAA.  BA ranked him 12th in the Indians’ system.

2016
AAA:  296/329/450, 429 AB, 31 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 19 BB, 88 K, 12-22 SB
MLB:  313/353/313, 16 AB, 1 BB, 8 K, 0-1 SB

Gonzalez opened the season in AAA, and also got called up for several weeks in mid-July and came up again in September.  He played mostly short in AAA, but moved around between second, third, short and right in the majors.  In AAA, he had his best season offensively, with good power but still with poor plate discipline.  BA ranked him 9th in the Indians’ system after the season.

2017
AAA:  256/286/431, 160 AB, 4 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 7 BB, 53 K, 5-6 SB
MLB:  255/272/418, 110 AB, 6 2B, 4 HR, 3 BB, 37 K, 1-3 SB

Gonzalez split the season between AAA and the majors, where he served as a utility player.  His hitting was more of the same:  some power with very bad walk and K rates. BA ranked him 11th in the Cleveland system.

2018
MLB:  265/301/375, 136 AB, 10 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 34 K, 3-3 SB

Out of options, Gonzalez spent the season with Cleveland as a utility infielder.  With Francisco Lindor around, he didn’t play much short.  He instead saw most of his time at second and third, with a little at first.

2019
AAA:  192/222/295, 78 AB, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 29 K, 1-2 SB
MLB:  254/301/317, 142 AB, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 BB, 37 K, 4-5 SB

Despite the lack of any indication in his track record that Gonzalez could be a starting-quality shortstop, the Pirates made it clear from the time they acquired him that he’d be the regular.  He struggled to hit in the early season, but three weeks in he broke his collarbone in a collision with Starling Marte.  He returned for rehab at the end of June, had his rehab halted and then came back a short time later.  He returned to the Pirates at the beginning of August and spent the rest of the season in a utility role, playing regularly through much of September as the team had a rash of injuries.  He ended up seeing quite a bit of time in the outfield.  Gonzalez played well defensively at short, but his hitting was largely what his history suggested it’d be, with bad walk and K rates.  The one difference was that he hit with much less power than he’d shown previously.  It took a strong stretch in the second half of September — a time when stats should always be viewed with skepticism — to raise his numbers as high as they got.

The Pirates’ fascination with Gonzalez seemed entirely based on scouting reports and not performance, as if he was still a prospect and not a 27-year-old when they acquired him.  Of course, that could change with Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle gone.  With Kevin Newman established at short and Cole Tucker still available, Gonzalez serves little purpose due to his weak bat.  The Pirates did, however, agree to a 2020 contract with him, thus avoiding arbitration.