The Prospector pans for pitching gold under the desert sun.
Welcome to The Prospector, the Rotochamps review of players not yet established in the Majors.
We start off our 2007 spring series with a look at two young pitchers for the Diamondbacks who you should not confuse. They have the same initials, the same age, and throw with the same hand, but they have a very different approach to retiring batters.
Edgar Gonzalez - 24 - RHP - Arizona Diamondbacks
Our first E. Gonzalez is a right-handed control pitcher. He mixes 4 major league average pitches: fastball, slider, curve and changeup. Despite only entering his age 24 season, he has already made appearances at the MLB level in each of the last 4 seasons. He is often overlooked because he is not a flame-thrower, but he is quietly maturing into a quality back-of-the-rotation pitcher.
In 2004 Gonzalez was given 10 starts and was terrible. 60% disaster starts kept him from getting any significant opportunity in 2005. This struggle did not set back his development. Look at his AAA trends for the last 3 years:
| YEAR |
AGE |
H/9 |
BB/9 |
K/9 |
HR/9 |
K/BB |
ERA |
WHIP |
| 2004 - AAA |
21 |
9.48 |
2.39 |
6.32 |
1.44 |
2.64 |
4.88 |
1.31 |
| 2005 - AAA |
22 |
9.97 |
2.05 |
6.25 |
1.08 |
3.05 |
4.37 |
1.33 |
| 2006 - AAA |
23 |
9.26 |
1.76 |
6.98 |
0.74 |
3.96 |
3.90 |
1.22 |
What we see here is a pitcher learning to make fewer and fewer mistakes. While there was some improvement in K_rate, what stands out is the gains in BB/9, HR/9, K/BB, and the impact of those improvements was reflected in a decreasing ERA. This kid is not going to blow away major league hitters, but he sure looks like he has a real future in the back of the Diamondbacks rotation. In 2007 he could very well be used in long relief and as a spot starter. He really does not need to spend another full season in the minors.
Enrique Gonzalez - 24 - RHP - Arizona Diamondbacks
Enrique is a spicier first name for a Gonzalez with more pepper on his fastball. He utilizes a four-seam min-90s heater, a two-seam sinking fastball, 2 breaking balls, and a changeup. Despite being the same age as Edgar, Enrique has had a much different path through the minors, spending a significant amount of time at A and A+, and very little time at AAA. Despite the limited AA and AAA exposure, Enrique was the one who got a bigger opportunity with the Diamondbacks in 2006. Lets take a look at his chart:
| YEAR |
AGE |
H/9 |
BB/9 |
K/9 |
HR/9 |
K/BB |
ERA |
WHIP |
| 2004 - A+ |
21 |
8.11 |
2.79 |
6.97 |
0.82 |
2.50 |
3.22 |
1.21 |
| 2005 - AA |
22 |
8.94 |
2.91 |
8.16 |
0.45 |
2.81 |
3.46 |
1.32 |
| 2006 - AAA |
23 |
9.15 |
2.10 |
5.25 |
0.30 |
2.50 |
2.24 |
1.25 |
What we see here reflects the perception that Enrique throws harder but with less control than Edgar. The thing that sticks out the most is Enrique's ability to limit homeruns. As he moved up in levels, and allowed more hits, he actually allowed less homeruns and even his worst rate was excellent. He was not able to carry this over to the major league level, where he allowed a 1.18 HR/9, but if he can bring his minor league HR rate to the majors he will be able to put up a solid ERA.
Enrique would really benefit from a full season at AAA, but I can definitely see both Gonzalez's filling out the back end of the Diamondbacks rotation by spring 2008.