Nick
Gonzales

Nick Gonzales, Highland High (CA), 2027
Positional Profile: SS/OF Up the middle athlete who shows SS long term potential with intriguing top of the order offensive profile
Body: 5-7, 159-pounds. Compact, athletic build with emerging strength
Hit: RHH. Balanced set up with knee bend and slight hip hinge, low back elbow, hands set around ear height at rear shoulder depth, barrel tipped towards 3B dugout Small sit into legs with a shift back to begin load, short stride to reach launch position. hands push back to separate from body, aggressive turn of hips with rear shoulder drive through the baseball, compact hand path, barrels work into zone early with length through zone 69.4 mph bat speed with 19 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 96 max exit velocity, averaged 84.3 mph. 329' max distance. Strong present top end EV with stroke geared towards leverage to the middle of the field and loft to pull side, doubles profile with sneaky HR potential to pull side
Arm: RH. INF-85 mph. OF-88 mph. Shows strong present arm speed with carry to his throws both in the OF/INF, clean stroke
Defense: Athletic mover who plays with confidence in his footwork/hands, clean transfers, ability to play downhill, SS potential will stick up the middle
ATH: 6.82 runner in the 60. 1.59 and 3.77 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. Explosive off the line with drive to top speed, maintains speed/stride length, athletic runner 24.10 max vertical.
Vizual Edge: 47.9 Edge Score

Gonzales was another strong performer from the 2025 Central California Preseason All State event where he put together a strong workout performance with a strong batting practice, showcasing solid present athletic ability and interesting actions during the defensive workout. This was also my first full look at him inside of a competitive game environment and the RHH SS ticked up for me after this look. His INF/OF was solid with good feet, solid hands, lateral range/comfort coming downhill and getting solid carry on his throws from SS. Those defensive tools carried over into the game with a solid defensive showing although he can polish his feel for staying in his legs during the transition from field to throw to clean up accuracy on his throws. At the dish Gonzales gave me strong hitterish vibes with an approach that is in hunt mode from the moment he gets in the box and with a swing that shows solid present bat speed with ability to keep his hands back. Gonzales flashed strong bat to ball skills over his four at bats with a solid feel for his barrel and rhythm in the box. There can be at times length in the swing when he doesn’t sync his turn into the hand path on time. He strung together a trio of strong at bats on the day with a leadoff triple to open the game before scoring on a wild pitch, stung a hard groundout to the glove side of the 3B before collecting his second knock of the day on a single back through the middle. A compact athletic frame with an up the middle defensive profile and top of the order potential keep eyes on this High Desert product.

Nick Gonzales, Highland High (CA), 2027
Positional Profile: SS/OF Well rounded toolset with up the middle INF defense profile and rising RHH potential.
Body: 5-7, 158-pounds. Compact athletic build
Hit: RHH. Even balanced set up with feet and crouch to his knees while maintaining a vertical upper body posture. High back elbow with hands near the top of his head and close the head with flatter bat angle. Quiet load with a small barrel tip to load hands and short stride with front foot while using small sit into legs to get to launch. Aggressive swing which uses his hips well and is able to get into his back leg while staying behind the ball at contact. Some length to the hand/barrel path which helps him to get through the ball at contact and create impact with increased bat speed. 73.4 mph bat speed with 12 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 94 max exit velocity, averaged 87.7 mph. 319' max distance. Flashes ability to leverage the baseball with impact from the middle to pull side that with solid top end EV will give him gap to gap doubles power and the potential to run one out to the pull side.
Arm: RH. INF-83 mph. Compact draw back out of the glove with slight pause before an aggressive arm path into throw. Shows effort from SS which profiles him better at 2B/3B long term.
Defense: Plays with rhythm and body control into and through the baseball showing soft hands and the ability to play low with his hips. More fluid than dynamic which gives him solid defensive profile on the dirt at 2B/3B.
ATH: 7.01 runner in the 60. Shows burst off the line with ability to get up to speed quickly and explosiveness throughout the run process.