Seattle Mariners: Is Gabriel Gonzalez On The Path To Becoming A Bust?

If you’re a Seattle Mariners die-hard, you might want to sit down for this. While the organization has a collection of talented young international phenoms in their pipeline (nobody can deny the team’s ability to scout the international market) I, and yes this is an unpopular opinion, am not of the belief that Gabriel Gonzalez is one of the system’s elites.

A bold proclamation for sure, however, early results from Modesto have me feeling a bit uneasy about GG’s long-term future.

I have the utmost confidence that Gonzalez can win me back. We are talking about a 5-tool talent (at least we were). If that’s the case, why am I so unamused? Here is just one issue of Gonzalez that has me on the fence.

Gonzalez is a mountain of a man. He’s got some muscle to his frame. While that means he has the potential for some light tower emerald city power and the potential to demolish baseballs to the Space Needle absolutely, the question is, “Will he steal bases? “Will he hit for average? “Will his size allow him to be a plus defender?” Of these traits I was confident of before, I am not as much now.

The size is just a small factor (one I will touch on later), first, though, we must understand the type of hitter GG is not. Hitting for average is a quality Gonzalez can achieve regardless of how I (or others) appear his frame to be. Gonzalez has not convinced me of that tool either.

During a recent game in Stockton, Gonzalez, facing a rather erratic Stockton pitcher, took two straight swings at pitches way off the strike zone. To some, that’s great. He wants to hit the long ball. What that tells me, though, he doesn’t want to play the long game. The instant gratification of the big play overcomes Gonzalez. Instead of waiting for his pitch, he tries to beat the crap out of the ball. Not exactly what I want to see from the tooled-up prospect. And, to that extent, not really much that separates him from any other power-hitting prospect.

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No doubt about this whatsoever, Cole Young is the best contact hitter in the lower levels of the Seattle system. Gabriel Gonzalez might have the biggest power potential (outside of Tyler Locklear in Hi-A). If he goes this route, choosing to only tap into the power and not the hit tool, I see a solid .240 average with 40+ home runs and a slew of Ks.

Gonzalez has been touted as a player with a solid hit tool. I have to question that. He can make contact. I am certainly not trusting him to hit a hard-hit grounder to RF. It is a home run or bust in his eyes.

That power, the insane hard-hit power, Cole Young doesn’t possess. If Young wants to take some whacks at the ball against a less-than-controlled pitcher early in the at-bat, let him. Young knows what kind of player he is. He is disciplined and patient. I can not foresee him forcing power at the expense of his contact skills.

Young has done thus far, what was expected of him. Cole Young has some great plate discipline. Gonzalez needs to work with Cole Young. The bat and contact skills aren’t there.

Gonzalez needs to wait for his pitch. Whether that comes from a homerun or a triple he legs out, and stays patient. I would rather Gonzalez hit .300 with 25+ home runs, double-digit doubles, a few triples, and a much more manageable K rate than what I mentioned earlier. The key is not to chase. And, do not swing for the fences and have the outfielder get you on the warning track on a ball you can put in play and get on base with a hard-hit line drive. That comes with maturity (another topic I will touch on).

The hit tool is not all that concerns me, though. I brought up Gonzalez’s build for a reason. When Gonzalez’s name was hot on the DSL and International scouting scene,I saw a potential 5-tool player. I and this could change with better conditioning, am under the assumption Gonzalez wants to develop into a power hitter. Nothing else. He has the muscle, yet his conditioning does not tell us he wants to be a basepath threat or a player that wants to turn a grounder to the outfield wall into a triple, or an outfielder that can be relied on in an everyday role.

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I get a lot more Vlad Guerrero Jr vibes right now than I do Jazz Chisholm Jr. Again, if that is the player he wants to be, I can live with that. It is just, what intrigued me most, was his 5-tool potential and the absolutely ridiculous power he had wrapped in that 5-tool ability. That does not appear to be his endgame.

Playing style aside, I am concerned about GG’s attitude and maturity. On more than one occasion during the game I attended, Gonzalez took a 3rd strike to end the inning and simply walked off the plate and proceeded to head to the outfield. I understand that for most players, walking to your position after the inning is the norm. The look on Gonzalez’s face, the pure look of disgust and what seemed to be frustration, struck me as a player who thinks he needs to be given every call by the umpires (maybe do not swing on the first two pitches of a wild pitcher).

Even more so, Gonzalez just left his equipment at the plate. Did not bother to pick any of it up, just let it sit there and have it be someone else’s issue. Again, all players do variations of this, but combined with the nonchalant and entitled attitude he showed after striking out, it caught my eye.

Gonzalez needs to earn his stripes. The god given talent only gets you so far. That, above all else, is very telling. You can not coast on talent alone. Gonzalez is good with fans. He acknowledges the kids, even if he doesn’t sign every autograph. That is just a small sample of what he needs to be on the field.

The joy of playing the game and having fans look up to you means nothing if you do not have the right mindset when the game is being played. That goes hand in hand with talent. Gonzalez is going to need to understand, that attitude is seen by more than just coaches. Fans will not respond to you. They will cheer you, but just ask any Cleveland fan what they really thought of Albert Belle, and you’ll see exactly what I am saying.

I have the utmost belief that Gonzalez will develop into a serviceable major leaguer. As I mentioned, I cannot place him as high on my Mariners prospect list as it stands now. He is still a name to watch in the system. The crazy high upside, though, for more than a few reasons, I am losing faith in that.

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