Grading The White Sox Top Prospects This Season: No. 4, Jacob Gonzalez
The White Sox first-round pick from the 2023 draft, the White Sox hope that Jacob Gonzalez can form an elite infield duo with number one ranked prospect Coloson Montgomery.
A three-year contributor at Ole Miss, Gonzalez had a great career, which warranted his first-round selection. In his three years, he hit .319 with a .427 OBP. He would add 40 home runs and 158 RBIs, as he was a very productive run producer for the Rebels. These stats are the main reason why he was a consensus first-rounder, and many thought the White Sox got a great player in the middle of the first round.
Once drafted, Gonzalez would go to rookie ball at the Arizona Complex league, where he would do alright. He hit .250 but posted an impressive .375 OBP. He walked three times compared to just two strikeouts. He would need just four games there before he was promoted to Kannapolis for the remainder of the season.
Over 30 games with Kannapolis, he would struggle. He hit .207 with a .328 OBP. This is not what you want to see out of your first-round pick. He hit one homerun and added 13 RBIs, but overall he wasn’t really productive with the bat. The one promising aspect was that he walked 20 times with just 23 strikeouts. This is a good sign of things to come. The fact that he is taking these walks while struggling is a great sign, as the hits will come, and combined with the walks, he will post a very high OBP.
I would chalk up his first professional season as just getting acclimated and fans shouldn’t be worried about the low offensive output. He hit very well in three years of college and still showed command of the strike zone in his limited time. 2024 should be a great season for Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has only played shortstop in his career. This will be an interesting development to follow as if things go well for number one prospect Coloson Montgomery, he will have the shortstop position locked down for a while in Chicago. Gonzalez will likely continue to play shortstop in the lower minors until he gets situated. If he shows that he is a better fielder than Montgomery, he could very well take the position from him. Scouts seem to like Montgomery better in the field, but it is up to the coaches to decide who plays where. Gonzalez does have a strong arm, so he could make a move to third base and form an elite left side of the field in a few years.
Overall, I would grade Gonzalez to a C+ just because of his hitting struggles in the minors. He is a left-handed bat that controls the zone well, but most fans would have liked to see more with the bat in his first taste of professional baseball. He will be a fun prospect to follow next year and could be a quick riser due to his college experience.