Working with Jack Wilson helps Pirates 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales find his own flash

The first day, the infield instructor kept close watch on the top-100 prospect with a vested interest, observing and analyzing every movement of the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Finally, Jack Wilson asked Nick Gonzales this question: Do you want to know what I see? The former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star shortstop read the scouting reports about their future second baseman: great swing, average defender. Wilson saw the talent and tools but no razzle-dazzle.

And that was unacceptable to Jumpin’ Jack Flash.

So Wilson issued a challenge: “I want to see 100%. I want to see that showtime arm, how hard you can throw it to first. Pretend it’s Ichiro trying to beat your throw,” Wilson told Gonzales.

“When he threw it to first, I was like, whoa, that was a bazooka!” Wilson said. “He plays the game like his demeanor, very calm and nothing is flashy. He doesn’t care about impressing anybody. He just wants to play the game. I was like, OK, there’s definitely more here. I have to pull it out and challenge him. I told him, ‘You need to play flashy — not to get people to look at you, but throw at all angles and show your quick feet.’ ”

In its draft scouting report, Baseball America raved about Gonzales’ “elite bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline” but questioned his defensive range: “Scouts believe he might be stretched in the hole, and he lacks the short-term area quickness teams prefer in their shortstops.”

The 21-year-old Gonzales has spent his career disproving doubters and plans to continue doing so at his first spring training at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. He went from walk-on at New Mexico State to the NCAA’s best hitter, yet scouts still questioned his level of competition and athleticism. Gonzales admitted he was more interested in efficiency than excitement.

“It’s definitely different for me, just the way I was raised to play baseball,” Gonzales said. “Very old school. Don’t try to do too much. That’s what I’ve done my whole life: I make the play, don’t try to do anything too crazy. I always have that athletic ability in my back pocket and can use it. When he told me, ‘Let loose. Be flashy,’ I was like, all right, I can do that, too. I had to try to have fun with it because it does go against my personality.”

Wilson, by contrast, was known for his flashy glove and acrobatic turns and throws for the Pirates from 2001-09. Though he never won a Gold Glove, despite leading the NL in assists, putouts and total chances and breaking Gene Alley’s club record for double plays in 2004, Wilson was an All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award that year.

Pirates great, Jack Wilson and top prospect, Nick Gonzalez turning double plays.

Things you love to see. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/tsSU647fgo

— Pirates Prospect Talk (@TalkPirates) February 9, 2021

PSI Sports Management put them together earlier this month — Gonzales is a client, Wilson an infield specialist — for four days of instruction on the turf infield in the backyard of Wilson’s home in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Now a high school baseball coach, Wilson took grounders with Gonzales twice a day and tutored him on everything from fielding footwork to flips while turning two.

One of the first things Wilson advised Gonzales was to attack the ball defensively as if he was at short instead of playing deep at second and letting grounders come to him. Wilson also gave Gonzales a gentle nudge with a reminder about being a retired ballplayer.

“I said, ‘Listen, I’m 43. I’m still pretty quick. You better not let me be as fast or faster than you,’ ” Wilson said. “Once I started to press on game-type speed, that’s when I saw it — how fast to turn a double play, feed the guy at second base. That’s when he fell right into place. I was like, dude, you need to do that all the time. No one is ever going to question your athletic ability.”

Gonzales had watched highlights of Wilson’s playing career for the Pirates and saw the pandemic instructional videos Wilson made with his son, Jacob, a freshman infielder at Grand Canyon in Phoenix. Working with a former major league shortstop unveiled a new side of Gonzales, one who finally let loose and had fun on defense.

Jack Wilson and his son Jacob have some fun ideas for you to Play Ball at Home.

Show us how you're staying active at home with #PiratesPlayBall. pic.twitter.com/TcZh6hJl54

— Pirates Play Ball (@PiratesPlayBall) May 1, 2020

Former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson and son Jacob Wilson turning double plays in the backyard ? (via @Tarek_Fattal) pic.twitter.com/xQRm4WUG4Y

— Baseball Bros (@BaseballBros) May 24, 2020

“I learned a lot from him, just fluidity around the bag and on the diamond,” Gonzales said. “That’s what I took most from him. Just to see a guy like Jack take ground balls, he was able to show us certain things like backhands, forehands, how to field slow rollers running in. To see that in person is so important. You can watch it on TV, but to see in real life translates.”

By their fourth day, Wilson’s fluidity transferred to Gonzales. They made a highlight video of their own, fielding grounders and turning double plays. The real evidence of Wilson’s influence came when Gonzales flipped one between his legs with his glove.

“I saw an Instagram video of him working out with Jack Wilson that made me really excited,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I appreciate that Jack’s a Pirate through and through and was spending time with Nick. That fired me up.”

Gonzales left quite an impression on Wilson, too.

“He’s going to be a phenomenal defender,” Wilson said. “He’s going to be really, really, really good. They got a steal in the seventh pick, for sure. This guy has a chance to be an impact player in the next year-and-a-half. This guy is incredible with the bat. You’ve got a future No. 2 or No. 3 hitter. He’s extremely athletic. His demeanor, he’s a very calm individual, the way he talks and acts. He’s probably the most humble first-rounder that I’ve been around. Reminds me of Andrew McCutchen.”

“Not a percentage of ego in that guy’s body.”

But now, thanks to a few days of working with Jumpin’ Jack Wilson, Gonzales now has some flash in his glove.