Orion
Gonzalez

Gonzalez was a standout during his freshman campaign for the Coyotes and has not started his sophomore season any differently. This was my third look at the must-see 2028  LHH two-way product, who has shown a wide variety of tools that are next-level tools with potential for more as he continues to mature. Probably the most noticeable change in the last 12+ months since my first look at Gonzalez is the physicality in the frame with noticeable strength in his upper and lower body that translates into everything he does on the field. He loads with intent in the box, moving aggressively into the launch position, but despite the intent, he is balanced at launch, keeps his hands back to sequence well, and does a tremendous job with his pitch selection when he pulls the trigger. Once he does uncork a swing, it’s a leveraged path with bat speed and length in the zone that he can hit the ball with authority at any angle with a middle to pull side approach. Gonzalez was on the barrel twice with a solid miss in a 2K count in his first at bat, seeing nine pitches before hammering a one-hop 4-3 groundout on a CHG where he showed his ability to keep the hands back and adjust to pitch velocity & location. He picked up a single thru the right side which was hammered and clocked a 4.33 home to 1B time and then narrowly missed leaving the yard with a drive to straightaway RF that came up about 3 feet short of a homerun, before completing his day with a disciplined base on balls where he attacked two early offerings for a pair of foul balls then spit on several intended chase offerings to take his walk. Gonzalez opened the game on the mound, where there is plenty of potential with an easy, low effort operation that features a loose, quick arm that mixed a trio of sound offerings in his four-seam FB at 85-88 MPH, two-seam FB at 82-84 MPH, and a CHG in the 76-78 MPH range. The righthander added a breaking ball in the 65-68 MPH range, but appeared not to feel confident in throwing the offering with aggressiveness, giving it a loopier, soft shape, but did throw it for strikes. The operation and delivery both present a future on the mound for Gonzalez, but the results for this live look where mixed as he scuffled with control of the FB & confidence in his offspeed offerings, making it a quick two-inning outing before he moved to 2B for the final five innings. With a collection of advanced tools, noticeable physicality, athleticism, and the coveted offensive impact from the LH side while showing up the middle defensive ability, Gonzalez needs to quickly go to a high spot on collegiate 2028 recruiting boards.