White Sox: Prospect Profiles – The Overlooked Luis Gonzalez
The next player to be covered in prospect profiles is one of the most overlooked prospects in the White Sox Top 30.
White Sox outfield prospect Luis Gonzalez, 23, has the ability to play all three outfield positions, but primarily plays center. His history of being a pitcher at the University of New Mexico has given him the ability to have a strong enough arm to play in right field.
Drafted in the third round in 2017, Gonzalez has worked his way into the top 10 of a White Sox farm system that is stacked, to say the least. His first year, four games spent with Great Falls of the Rookie League then 63 with Low-A Kannapolis, Gonzalez hit an underwhelming .236. His on-base percentage is what stood out, at .351.
With the White Sox struggles with not taking enough walks and striking out, Gonzalez brings a different mindset and style the team could adapt to.
He walked a total of 42 times and struck out only 53 times in 299 plate appearances in 2017. But despite his solid 2017, his 2018 is what placed him in the top 10.
Gonzalez split his 2018 apart of both Kannapolis and High-A Winston-Salem and had a batting slash of .307/.368/.498. Most impressively, he hit 40 doubles, which was the fourth most in the minors, with 71 RBIs in 482 at-bats.
He also surprised with 14 home runs and 10 stolen bases and five triples. This comes as a surprise considering Gonzalez is not viewed to be a power hitter or base-path-blazer. His sneaky power and speed will certainly help in his development in the next few years.
The only concern with Gonzalez right now would be the fact that his walk numbers dropped significantly. With Kannapolis in 2017, his walk percentage was 13.7 percent. With Winston-Salem in 2018, it was 9.4 percent. His strikeout numbers have dropped a tad, from 18.1 percent in 2017 with Kannapolis to 16 percent in 2018 with Winston-Salem. It is a small difference, but if he continues to chip away at that strikeout percentage and take more pitches and walks, he would be well on his way to the south side.
It is not too concerning that his walk numbers have dropped considering his batting average spiked dramatically. This means he is not walking more, but he is getting more hits, which is not that bad of a trade-off. Considering it has not affected his OBP, it is not too much of a concern.
An ability of his that is worth highlighting is the number of doubles he gets. He can drive the ball to all sides of the field, an ability that is hard to come by. Fourth in the MiLB with 40 doubles in 2018 will be hard for Gonzalez to follow up, but something for him to build off.
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Gonzalez will most likely begin his 2019 with the Winston-Salem Dash, but he will most likely not end it with them. If he continues to hit well consistently, keep his strikeout numbers where they are or lower and draw more walks than last year, he can very easily make his way up the organization.