Pirates Select NM State's Gonzales With Seventh Pick of MLB Draft
VAIL, Ariz. - For NM State middle infielder Nick Gonzales, the first step of his big league dreams came true on Wednesday night as the Pittsburgh Pirates selected the junior with the seventh pick of the 2020 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.
He becomes the first WAC baseball player to go in the first round since the St. Louis Cardinals selected Hawaii's Kolten Wong with the 22nd pick of the 2011 draft. He is also the first top 10 pick since the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Wade Townsend from Rice with the eighth pick of the 2005 draft.
Gonzales finished the season ranked in the top five in the nation in 10 categories: home runs (1st), home runs per game (3rd), runs (1st), runs batted in (1st), runs batted in per game (1st), total bases (1st), slugging percentage (2nd), on-base percentage (3rd), walks (4th) and walks per game (5th).
At one point, he hit 12 home runs in only 48 at-bats over 13 games and was on pace to hit 50 homers. When the season was suspended, he had a national best on-base streak of 82 consecutive games.
The MLB Draft, which was shortened from the traditional 40 rounds to just five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, continues on Thursday afternoon, beginning at 3 p.m. MT.