Joseph
Gonzalez

USA CNT: After going 7-4, 3.22 in a breakout sophomore year as the rotation anchor for an Omaha team, Gonzalez led Team USA in innings this summer and shined. He struck out five over four innings of hitless, scoreless ball in two appearances in North Carolina, then allowed just one unearned run in 7.2 innings of stellar work in Haarlem, striking out eight without issuing a walk. Very physical at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Gonzalez toes the rubber on the first base side and pitches around the corner from a three-quarters slot, with minimal effort in his delivery. His calling card is a heavy sinker that bumped 94-95 and sat 91-93 in our look, and that pitch helps him induce groundball outs by the bushel. He struck out just 54 batters in 78 innings this spring, but he succeeded by pounding the strike zone (just 15 walks) and pitching to contact with that trademark sinker. He also showed a quality second pitch in a short cutterish slider at 84-87, which he located effectively to both sides of the zone. It’s an average pitch that spins in the 2300s to 2400s. In Omaha this year, Gonzalez also threw a changeup at 87 mph, but he uses it sparingly and it is clearly his third pitch, so the continued refinement of that offering should boost his stock going forward.