After a meteoric offensive breakout in Triple-A, the former first-round pick brings elite power and refined plate discipline to Chicago’s infield as he prepares for his Major League arrival.
The Chicago White Sox have called up one of their hottest hitting prospects.
With Munetaka Murakami landing on the 15-day injured list due to a hamstring injury, the White Sox decided to call up their No. 23 overall prospect, Jacob Gonzalez, ahead of Saturday’s contest against the Detroit Tigers.
Gonzalez has had a strong first two months at Triple-A Charlotte. He slashed .317/.419/.668 with 19 home runs, 11 doubles, 62 RBI, and eight stolen bases across 52 games and led all Triple-A hitters with those 19 home runs.
This Minor League production came out of nowhere, as Gonzalez really struggled offensively in his first three years of professional ball.
He batted .211 with one home run and 17 RBI across 34 games at rookie ball and Single-A in 2023, had a .238 batting average with eight home runs, 58 RBI, and 17 stolen bases across 130 games at High-A and Double-A in 2024, and finished with a mere .232 batting average with eight home runs, 61 RBI, and 17 stolen bases across 134 games at Double-A and Triple-A last year.
However, Gonzalez has finally shown why the White Sox selected him 15th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.
A major reason for Gonzalez's breakthrough in the minors this season was his improved metrics. He’s hitting the ball harder, pulling the ball in the air more, and swinging at more pitches in the zone.
The 24-year-old ranked in the 89th percentile in xwOBA (.375), 76th percentile in expected batting average (.260), 69th percentile in average exit velocity (90 mph), 87th percentile in barrel rate (12.5%), 67th percentile in Pull AIR rate (20.1%), and 50th percentile in zone-swing rate (66.4%) among all Triple-A hitters this year.
For context, Gonzalez failed to reach above the 52nd percentile in any of those hitting categories at Triple-A last season. His .217 expected batting average, 2.6% barrel rate, 32.5% hard-hit rate, and even 63.7% zone-swing rate were all extremely poor metrics.
Gonzalez will now get to show his potential in the big leagues amid a breakout campaign. He will get plenty of opportunities with Murakami sidelined and has experience playing all four infield spots in his career.
The White Sox prospect will bring a solid all-around game to this ballclub. He has elite plate discipline, will take his walks, and can steal a handful of bases. The power is also there, as he had an 18-home run season in college and hit 19 long balls in 199 at-bats this year.
Gonzalez is not in the lineup against a lefty in Saturday’s contest against the Tigers. But he could enter the game as a pinch hitter once Framber Valdez exits and could draw his first career start on Sunday.
