E. Gonzalez impressive this winter
01/06/2006
PHOENIX -- Edgar Gonzalez is a long shot to make the Diamondbacks rotation in 2006, but if the right-hander is able to carry over his winter ball performance to Spring Training, he could certainly make things interesting.
Heading into a big start on Friday for Hermosillo in the Mexican Winter League, Gonzalez was 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA in seven starts.
"Edgar is being Edgar," said Mike Rizzo, the D-Backs VP of scouting operations. "With all the big-league guys he's faced down there, he's pitched very well."
Gonzalez's stuff has never been questioned as he had success at each level of Arizona's system. In his third year at Triple-A Tucson, he was 11-6 with a 4.37 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Pitching in the big leagues, though, has been a different story for the 22-year-old.
When injuries plagued the Arizona rotation in 2003, Gonzalez became the youngest pitcher to win a game in the Majors in six seasons. He wound up going 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in nine games, two of them starts. But in 2004, he struggled mightily, going 0-9 with a 9.32 ERA in 10 starts.
What hurt him even more, though, was the perception by the coaching staff that he didn't prepare well for his starts.
"We hope he really takes the Winter League success into Spring Training," Rizzo said. "It didn't click for him [in 2004], but he put up some good numbers at Triple-A last year. We still like him."
Red hot: Catcher Miguel Montero continued his impressive winter by hitting .284 with 10 doubles, six homers and 22 RBIs for Occidente in the Venezuela Winter League.
The 22-year-old began the offseason by hitting .421 with two homers and nine RBIs in six games in the Arizona Fall League.
Montero is expected to start off the 2006 season with Double-A Tennessee, and he could be in the big leagues as soon as 2007.
Adding value: Infielder Alex Cintron, who has been the subject of trade rumors since the D-Backs signed veteran Damion Easley and traded for Orlando Hudson, is once again having an outstanding Winter League season.
Through 25 games for Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League, Cintron was hitting .322 with eight doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs.
In 2003 and 2005, Cintron used strong winter performances as a springboard for Spring Training as he came into camp ahead of other hitters.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
PHOENIX -- Edgar Gonzalez is a long shot to make the Diamondbacks rotation in 2006, but if the right-hander is able to carry over his winter ball performance to Spring Training, he could certainly make things interesting.
Heading into a big start on Friday for Hermosillo in the Mexican Winter League, Gonzalez was 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA in seven starts.
"Edgar is being Edgar," said Mike Rizzo, the D-Backs VP of scouting operations. "With all the big-league guys he's faced down there, he's pitched very well."
Gonzalez's stuff has never been questioned as he had success at each level of Arizona's system. In his third year at Triple-A Tucson, he was 11-6 with a 4.37 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Pitching in the big leagues, though, has been a different story for the 22-year-old.
When injuries plagued the Arizona rotation in 2003, Gonzalez became the youngest pitcher to win a game in the Majors in six seasons. He wound up going 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in nine games, two of them starts. But in 2004, he struggled mightily, going 0-9 with a 9.32 ERA in 10 starts.
What hurt him even more, though, was the perception by the coaching staff that he didn't prepare well for his starts.
"We hope he really takes the Winter League success into Spring Training," Rizzo said. "It didn't click for him [in 2004], but he put up some good numbers at Triple-A last year. We still like him."
Red hot: Catcher Miguel Montero continued his impressive winter by hitting .284 with 10 doubles, six homers and 22 RBIs for Occidente in the Venezuela Winter League.
The 22-year-old began the offseason by hitting .421 with two homers and nine RBIs in six games in the Arizona Fall League.
Montero is expected to start off the 2006 season with Double-A Tennessee, and he could be in the big leagues as soon as 2007.
Adding value: Infielder Alex Cintron, who has been the subject of trade rumors since the D-Backs signed veteran Damion Easley and traded for Orlando Hudson, is once again having an outstanding Winter League season.
Through 25 games for Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League, Cintron was hitting .322 with eight doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs.
In 2003 and 2005, Cintron used strong winter performances as a springboard for Spring Training as he came into camp ahead of other hitters.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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