SAMUEL GONZALEZ
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CATCHER
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Born: February 24, 1989 Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 180 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int. FA, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2009 How Acquired: Int. FA Country: Dominican Republic Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
Gonzalez signed at age 20, which is older than the norm for Latin prospects, but he advanced quickly in his first couple of seasons. Like a lot of the teams lower-level catchers, he’s wiry and athletic, with a good arm and more agility than many catchers. He at least has the potential to be a good defensive catcher and so far has shown a solid, line drive bat. His build and stance at the plate are very reminiscent of Manny Sanguillen, and like Sanguillen he tends to wait on pitches and try to drive them to right field.
2009 Caught about half the time in the DSL and had a decent debut with the bat, posting the same number of walks as strikeouts. Threw out 23% of base stealers. 2010 Was one of the best hitters in the DSL in his second season, although he was old for that league at age 21. He again showed very good plate discipline. He threw out 27% of basestealers. 2011 As they generally have done with Latin American prospects who are older than the norm for the rookie level, the Pirates brought Gonzalez straight to State College rather than sending him to the GCL. He had a strong season, making the New York-Penn League All-Star team and again controlling the strike zone very well. He only threw out 17% of base stealers and had seven passed balls, after committing only three in his two DSL seasons, so he probably has work to do on defense. He missed the last three weeks of the season with a shoulder strain. 2012 Gonzalez was still troubled in spring training by a shoulder problem and didn’t start catching until the end of camp, although he was able to hit throughout. The shoulder was still bothering him when State College’s season started, as the Pirates moved him to the infield. He split time at first with Jared Lakind and played one game at second. He had a disappointing season at the plate; whether the shoulder played a role in that I don’t know. 2013 Gonzalez was catching in camp in 2013, but he opened the season in extended spring training. He ultimately appeared in just five widely scattered games in the GCL, mainly at catcher. Gonzalez is still with the organization, but will now be a player/coach. He may appear in a few games at the lower levels if there are some injuries, or he may not appear in any games at all. |
STATS
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Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MiLB.com |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
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2014: Minor League Contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION
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Signing Bonus: N/A MiLB Debut: 2011 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2015 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: 2012 Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS
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February 6, 2009: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |