It’s safe to say that the Pirates’s offense has found another gear over the last few weeks. We’ve seen the team hit the double digit mark twice in the last few weeks, and talks about the team’s overall batting slump have mostly evaporated, save for a few particular players.
This recent turnaround isn’t without consequence, however. The team’s resurgence at the plate and overall increase in offense has been sparked mostly by the arrival of Nick Gonzales.
In early May, the Pirates were absolutely reeling. They could not hit the ball, and had come off of three horrible offensive series against Oakland, Colorado, and the Los Angeles Angels.
It was embarrassing showing after embarrassing showing for the Pirates, and they needed some serious help at the plate.
Meanwhile, Gonzales was killing things in Triple-A with the Indianapolis Indians. He was slashing .358/.431/.608 in 30 games with Indy, being among the International League batting leaders.
Going into his age 24/25 season, this was a big year for the former seventh overall pick by the Pirates.
He lost out on a major league job coming out of spring training, but his extremely impressive start in Indianapolis was simply too hard to ignore, especially as the current major leaguers were trending in a very bad way.
Gonzales has been everything the Pirates could have hoped from him this season, and then some. In his first 14 games with the Pirates, Gonzales is slashing .300/.357/.500. His batting average currently leads the team, and his on-base and slugging percentage are both currently second on the team.
Without Gonzales, the Pirates averaged just 3.53 runs per game. Since Gonzales made his season debut, that number has spiked to 5.36 runs per game.
And Gonzales has been a direct driver of that change. In 14 games, he already has 13 RBI on the season. That’s more than many other players on the current team who have played significantly more games, including Rowdy Tellez (8 RBI in 45 games), Michael A. Taylor (9 RBI in 42 games), and Ke’Bryan Hayes (11 RBI in 34 games).
He is making such good contact with the ball this season, and looks like one of the most confident players at the plate for the Pirates. He is currently on a 5 game hitting streak, racking up 8 hits and 7 RBI in that time frame.
Last night was by far his best game of the season. He opened the scoring last night vs Atlanta, hitting an outfield single to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Later on, in the bottom of the sixth, Gonzales hit a double to right field that scored another pair of runs to tack on.
The bulk of his damage has come from the fifth spot in the lineup. He has bat there in 10 games this season and has consistency been there since May 16th.
He has found a way to bring consistent hitting and power to the middle of the batting order, helping to ensure that the success found earlier in the order isn’t all going to waste.
The question becomes whether this season can be different for Nick Gonzales. If you remember, he had a very similar hot streak after a call up to start his major league season.
His overall 2023 numbers (.209 batting average and a .616 OPS) in 35 major league games last season shadow a very hot start Gonzales had.
In his first 13 games with the Pirates last year, Gonzales was hitting .333 with a .989 OPS. He had 11 RBI in those games and 2 home runs, the same amount of homers he has now in 2024.
From Game 14 onwards, he batted an abysmal .137 and his OPS was clinging to the .400s. So what’s to say that a collapse like that isn’t in the cards for him once again?
For starters, Gonzales has been a lot more consistent at the plate this season.
In 2023, Nick had 14 hits in his first 13 games, but he went hitless in 5 of those games. This year, he has 13 hits in his first 13 games, but only 3 of those games saw no his for him.
In a similar light, a lot of his batting ratios have greatly improved from last season. Here’s a breakdown
Strikeout rate: 28.1% in 2023 | 21.1% in 2024
Walk rate: 4.7% in 2023 | 7.0% in 2024
Home run rate: 1.6% in 2023 | 3.5% in 2024
In addition to that, he has been able to put a lot more power in his swing this year in the major leagues. His average exit velocity last season was 84.8 miles per hour, meanwhile this year that has spiked to 90.2 miles per hour.
As such, his hard hit rate, which measures ball in play that had an exit velocity of 95 miles per hour or more, has skyrocketed from 26.8% last year to 55.0% this year.
All of the underlying numbers are looking really good for Gonzales right now, and his consistency in the basic stats are holding strong.
Aside from the batting, his defensive work has also improved. Is he a perfect fit at second base? No, but he does appear to be making some plays on that side of the field that he would not have been able to make last year.
He has yet to be charged with an error, sporting a 1.000% fielding percentage in 117 innings of baseball on the diamond.
These next few games are going to be crucial in Gonzales shutting down any concerns of a potential fall, but his efforts last night were already a great sign that this year is truly different for Gonzales.
The Pirates have had a lot of whiffs in the draft these last few years, particularly with the high picks. There was a lot of concern that Gonzales’ name would be added to that list, but if he can keep this up, he is setting himself and the team up well for the future.
(Featured photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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