Scouting the 2020 Draft: Nick Gonzales

Nick Gonzales 2B, College(New Mexico St).  B-R, T-R.  5/10", 190 lbs.

2019(College):  .432/.532/.773, 19 2B, 4 3B, 16 HR, 7 SB, 45 BB, 30 K, 220 AB.
2019(Cape Cod League):  .351, 14 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 154 AB.

Nick Gonzales is not going go blow anyone away with his toolset, except maybe the hit tool.  He was a walk-on at NMSU who quickly made a name for himself with an off-the-charts work ethic, earning a scholarship for his sophomore season after slashing .347/.425/.596 his freshman campaign.  Still, NMSU has a hitter-friendly ballpark in a hitter-friendly, non-elite conference(WAC).  We've seen strong numbers from there before.  What put Gonzales on draft rankings is his performance in the Cape Cod League where he won a MVP while putting up one of the more impressive lines you'll see from there.  Now he's drawing comps to Keston Hiura and hovering around the #10 level on draft boards.

I found multiple articles full of stories about Nick Gonzales work ethic like picking the coach's brain at lunchtime on hitting tips and baseball strategy and setting up his own lights to take batting practice alone when the rest of the team was at the movies.  He does not fit the classic first round draft pick mold but with the recent success of picks like Hiura and Nick Madrigal, he could be looking at a nice draft bonus next June if he continues to put up video game numbers at the plate.

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DrB's Updated 2020 Draft Board:

1.  Austin Martin SS, College(Vanderbilt).
2.  Spencer Torkelson 1B, College(Arizona St).
3.  Emerson Hancock RHP, College(Georgia).
4.  Cole Wilcox RHP, College(Georgia).
5.  Asa Lacy LHP, College(Texas A&M).
6.  Garrett Crochet LHP, College(Tennessee).
7.  Jordan Walker 3B, HS.
8.  Zac Veen OF, HS.
9.  Patrick Bailey C, College(NC State).
10.  Nick Gonzales 2B, College(New Mexico St).
11. Robert Hassell OF, HS.
12.  Pete Crow-Armstrong OF, HS.
13.  J.T. Ginn RHP, College(Mississippi St).
14.  Jared Kelley RHP, HS.
15. Mick Abel RHP, HS.
16.  Austin Hendrick OF, HS.
17.  Cade Cavalli RHP, College(Oklahoma).
18.  Ed Howard SS, HS.