Grand plans: Pirates prospect Nick Gonzales opens eyes with slams in back-to-back games

The Greensboro Grasshoppers had the bases loaded and were trailing by two runs when Nick Gonzales came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but no one could have predicted what came next.

Not even after what Gonzales had done two days earlier.

Gonzales hit three home runs against Asheville, including a grand slam, on Aug. 29. The second baseman already homered once this night against the Hudson Valley Renegades. To expect an encore was asking too much — even for a pure hitter who was drafted No. 7 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Then Gonzales sent the second pitch he saw over the fence for a walk-off grand slam and 9-7 win on Tuesday, setting off a celebration where his teammates ripped off his jersey once he crossed home plate.

“You never go into a game thinking you’re going to do anything crazy like that,” Gonzales told the Tribune-Review by phone Saturday. “To do that, that’s awesome. You’re really feeling good at the plate when you do that. You just black out. You’re just running the bases and don’t even know what’s going on.”

We're still buzzing from last night's walk-off grand slam by @Nick_Gonzales13. Incredible game and the Hoppers never gave up after losing the lead midway through the game. We are now 1.5 games up on @HVRenegades for the 2nd spot in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Zq5Tbxy8H6

— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) September 1, 2021

It capped an incredible two-game stretch that saw Gonzales go 7 for 12 with five home runs — including two grand slams — and 15 RBIs. Gonzales was 4 for 7 with three homers — a slam, three-run homer and a solo shot — and eight RBIs in a 19-11 win over Asheville Tourists on Aug. 29, then went 3 for 5 with two homers and seven RBIs on Tuesday in a 9-7 win over the Renegades.

“I can’t really put words to explain the last two games,” Greensboro manager Kieran Mattison said by phone this past Wednesday, still absorbing the numbers. “Nick is a special player and he’s showing it. Not everybody can go out and have games like that. Nick’s a special young man, a special player. People know who he is in the lineup. It’s not like they’re serving it up. He’s being pitched pretty tough. It’s been that way all season. Kudos to the work he’s putting in.”

That sounds off the bat though ???????????? https://t.co/PJT7FNe10q

— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) September 1, 2021

Gonzales, ranked the Pirates’ No. 4 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, was named the player of the month in the High-A East after leading the league in hits (39), runs (24), doubles (10), home runs (10) total bases (81) and slugging percentage (.757) and ranking second in RBIs (58). He hit three grand slams in August alone. Those numbers drew the notice of Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who called Gonzales hitting two grand slams in back-to-back games “unbelievable.”

“He just continues to hit, and it’s really fun to see,” Shelton said. “We thought that this guy was one of the premier hitters in the draft, and he’s really done a good job so far early in his professional career. To get that hot, that’s awesome. … You talk about guys getting hot and seeing the ball and it looking like a beach ball, I’m assuming it looks really big to him right now. I can’t relate to how that’s ever felt, but I’m really happy that it’s one of our guys that’s doing it.”

What’s most impressive is how Gonzales has turned his season around since breaking the pinky finger on his right hand in late May. It was the first injury of his career and caused him to miss more than a month of his first professional season, as there was no minor league baseball last summer because of the pandemic.

Gonzales was injured while trying to beat out an infield throw when he tripped over the first baseman and did a front flip, landing on his feet but using his hands to brace the fall. He spent the next six weeks in a splint, unable to swing a bat.

“You don’t really think it affects you too much but when you’re holding the bat you’re putting a lot of pressure there when you’re squeezing,” Gonzales said. “It was tough. Not having that feel again of hitting and doing well for a long time, even swinging a bat because I’ve always been a guy who loves to hit. Not being in the cage hitting and not having that extra confidence was tough, definitely.”

That didn’t stop Gonzales from working on the mental aspect of the game, tracking the bullpen and side sessions for Greensboro and charting pitches to keep his timing sharp. The right-handed Gonzales has a top-hand dominant follow through on his swing, but he couldn’t get a good feel with his grip because of the broken pinky finger. Gonzales heeded Mattison’s words to trust both the process and his pedigree.

“It’s a weird feeling when you don’t feel like your swing is there that’s been there your whole life,” Gonzales said. “Just trusting the process and working through it is part of it. Baseball is a long season. Injuries happen. I’d rather have this first time being injured, being down for six weeks in High-A ball than in the big leagues or anywhere else and having to deal with it then.”

It affected his hitting. On July 15, Gonzales was batting .214. A few weeks later, Mattison noticed a difference when Gonzales hit a fly ball to the warning track in left-center field. The result was an out, but everyone sensed something was different about the way Gonzales hit through the ball. He recalls the moment as the first time since his injury that he squared up a pitch with backspin. His swing finally felt normal.

“Since then, it just kind of took off,” Mattison said. “He’s just being who he is. He’s proving at this level of what he’s capable of doing and why we picked him where we picked him in the draft.”

In the past 40 games, Gonzales is hitting .358 (62 for 173) with 13 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 38 RBIs for the Grasshoppers. The success is no surprise to Mattison, who often finds Gonzales already in the batting cage upon his arrival to the ballpark. Gonzales likens hitting off the tee in the cage to therapy. It’s a relaxation exercise that he finds satisfying, one that he does on a daily basis as if it’s meditation.

“I joke with him all the time: ‘You were born to hit, man,’” Mattison said, noting that Gonzales had great statistics at New Mexico State and in the Cape Cod League. “That drive to be the best, you can’t tell he has that history. I pull up to the stadium and Nick already is in the cages, working on his craft and get the groove in his swing he’s looking for. He’s very adamant about being successful, not only self-driven but he’s doing it because he wants to pull his weight for the team.”

For Gonzales, it’s a grand plan that’s proven to be a slam.