Welcome to the Show: Former Aggie Nick Gonzales is promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates
MIAMI, Florida (KVIA) -- Just over three years after getting drafted as the 7th overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, former Aggie Nick Gonzales will debut in the Majors.
The lone first round pick in NM State history got the call up on Thursday and played second base and batted seventh in the Pirates 3-1 win over the Marlins on Friday. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak for Pittsburgh.
Gonzales went 0-3 at the plate, getting struck out twice but had some nice plays in the field. His entire family was there to watch his MLB debut.
Gonzales is the No. 5 prospect in the Pirates organization and the No. 8 second base prospect among all organizations, according to MLB Pipeline. The former Aggie will wear uniform No. 39.
The former walk-on will become the eighth NM State alum to make it to the Major Leagues, joining former teammates Joey Ortiz (made his debut 57 days ago) and Kyle Bradish (made his debut in 2022), both of whom are currently with the Baltimore Orioles. Friday also marks the first time in program history that three former Aggies are on active MLB rosters at the same time.
In 57 games with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, Gonzales has hit .257 with 25 extra base hits, including six home runs. In the month of June, the middle infielder has hit .270 with five multi-hit games to earn his promotion to Pittsburgh.
The sure-handed defender has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 33 games at second base. Gonzales has sprinkled in 22 additional games between third base (14) and shortstop (8), fielding at a .906 rate.
While at NM State, Gonzales acquired nearly every accolade imaginable. The Vail, Ariz. native was the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year, an eight-time All-American, three-time Freshman All-American, Academic All-American, member of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List, 2019 NCAA batting champion (.432), Cape Cod League MVP.
