Gonzales dishes on hitting, friendship and fun in the AFL

Nick Gonzales made his professional debut one to remember. Pittsburgh's first-round selection in the 2020 Draft spent all of last season with High-A Greensboro after ending his collegiate career with New Mexico State. The 22-year-old slammed 18 homers, batted .302 and compiled a .950 OPS before doing even more damage in the Arizona Fall League. While a big league appearance may be another year away, Gonzales is well on his way toward calling the Steel City home.

Jonathan Mayo: I've always wanted to dig into hitting with you a little more. You're a guy who's hit pretty much everywhere you've been, so when did you discover that? Obviously you work at it, but it seems like such a natural thing.

Nick Gonzales: Yeah, I think at a young age. I fell in love with hitting and l was kind of obsessive about it when I was really young, and I just had so much fun swinging the bat. I think my dad telling me when I was a little boy, just out there hitting off the tee, and never really seemed like work for me. I kind of just love doing it. And in college, especially, like, it really started clicking for me. And I think that's when things started to really grow for me -- good coaching and preparation and everything like that.

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Mayo: I want to ask you a little bit about college, but I'm sure you've heard the things -- yes, you put up video game numbers at New Mexico State. How much do you have to work to keep that out of your head? And then how much did what you did in the Cape [Cod League] convince you like, 'Oh, yeah, this is gonna work for me in the next level'?

Gonzales: Yeah, I think the Cape was pivotal for me, you know, we're at sea level. And the big thing in New Mexico is it's really high up, and you're facing the best pitchers in college baseball and amateur baseball. So I think the Cape was huge for me. And then I kind of had to block all that out about the high elevation and low talent and everything like that in New Mexico, but I think it was still so much fun to go play and be around those guys and learn from those coaches. So I kind of just blocked it out by, you know, trying to compete and win championships with a team.

Mayo: I know that you're a guy who loves getting out there to work. How frustrating was it when you had the the finger injury? You know, not just because you can swing the bat, but just because you couldn't do the things you love? What did you do to try to manage that frustration?

Gonzales: Yeah, it was the first time like being like a fan and watching baseball. You know, I watch baseball a lot, but not like that. Not every day, out there watching on the sidelines, it was tough for me. But I had to just learn ways to be a good teammate. And I was able to take ground balls and everything with my good hand, so I just tried to stay sharp like that. But it was definitely tough.

Mayo: I think it would reflect in when you first came back, your timing clearly was just not what it used to be, and people described you to me as a kind of a timing hitter. How long did it take you [to get back]? Because second half of the season, you were maybe the hottest hitter in the Minors. So clearly, you got it down. Was there like a moment? Or like, what do you do to try to get that time back?

Gonzales: Yeah, so it was crazy. It's like first at-bat, I had hit a homer back. So I was like, 'Oh, I'm fine. Like this is gonna be fine.' But I think as time went on, it was like, OK, you know, you probably are off a little bit and it took me it took me longer than I expected, maybe like two weeks, three weeks and then I think once I came back, I felt like I was normal again. So you know, timing was that I was sitting on pitches that I was swinging at earlier in the spring.

Mayo: I know you and Bryson Stott of the Phillies played together [in the Fall League]. You seem to form a pretty good bond there. One of the advantages of the Fall League is you get to pick the brains of guys of other organizations. What was that relationship like? Did you guys know each other before?

Gonzales: No, I only knew of him, because he's obviously a great player. He went to UNLV and we never played each other but being a West Coast-area type, I knew of him. So it was cool to play with him. You know, I'd never met him before. He's such a great guy and works hard. Great hitter. I mean, exceptional hitter and right fielder. So it was fun ... I took some ground balls with him and everything. It was really fun.

Mayo: Last question about hitting, but the one thing that people always said was, 'Well, how much power is he going to have in the big leagues?' Do you get annoyed with that question or is that like something that you have to even remind yourself that it doesn't matter? It's going to come.

Gonzales: Yeah, I think that it doesn't matter to me because you know, it's hard to see power for a guy my size in BP and everything like that. It's just something that you kind of, you know, the pitcher supplies a lot of the power. And if you watch Mookie Betts, he doesn't really crush homers in batting practice all the time. And I think that's kind of what I want to do and I want to pride myself on. I think Mookie even said, 'I don't get homers in BP, so when they asked about the Home Run Derby or something, I don't hit homers in BP.' So I think that's kind of what I want to be like.

Mayo: I could talk to you about hitting all day, but I know that you take a lot of pride on the other side of the ball. Especially because that was something I think people said, 'Well, let's see what it looks like.' How happy are you with where you are? And I know you're at camp getting more reps at shortstop. How much does that help you? Even if you end up going back over to second?

Gonzales: Yeah, it's been helping me a ton. And I think the strides I've made offensively, you know, the other side of the ball had been amazing. And I'm happy with it, I still got a lot of work to do. We're still working on stuff every day, early work individual stuff, but I'm really happy with it. And moving to shortstop is, or just taking ground balls over there, it's really helping me at second, helping the arm getting the legs under the throw and everything. So I'm excited about it.

Mayo: I wanted to ask you a little bit about Liover [Peguero], because I know that you guys are tight. Talk a little bit about that relationship and how cool would it be if the two of you can get to Pittsburgh at the same time?

Gonzales: Yeah, I mean, that would be amazing. We talk about it, we talk all the time -- he was just over at the house the other day, and we were hanging out. He definitely misses being out here. And I miss him being out here. So you know, we're excited for the future. I think everyone's a little excited about that. And I think me and him have a good future together, and he wants to play together for a long time and I want to play with him for a long time, so it's kind of a good relationship we have built. So I'm excited for it.