Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Baseball Insider's 2024 Season Top 50 Prospects: No. 48 OF Esteban Gonzalez

Guardians OF prospect Gonzalez led the Arizona Complex League with a .269 ISO while also posting a 139 wRC+ and .979 OPS in 2023

Todd Paquette

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As we prepare for a new year and spring training to begin, there’s no better time to bring you an up-to-date look at Cleveland Baseball Insiders' top 50 prospects.

Rankings are based off seeing the players live, watching video and having conversations with evaluators within and outside of the organization, as well as other writers. While prospect lists are fun and entertaining for fans, they are not an end-all-be-all in terms of who make it eventually to the major leagues. Remember, Jose Ramirez was never a top-100 prospect nationally and players like Steven Kwan and Will Brennan weren't considered top-20 prospects in the Guardians organization by many outside publications.

The ultimate goal here is to inform our readers and give you information on some of the young talent in the organization that they can follow and look forward to seeing in the future at the MLB level.

Esteban Gonzalez - Outfielder

AGE - 20

BATS - L

DOB - 3/19/2003

THROWS - R

HT - 5'8"

SIGNED - 7/02/2019

WT - 150

ETA - 2026

The 20-year-old outfielder was signed by the Guardians as an international free agent for a mere $10K out of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Gonzalez was set to debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2020 but the season was canceled due to the pandemic. With his debut pushed back to 2021 Gonzalez played in 35 games where he opened some eyes hitting .298 while posting a 149 wRC+ in the DSL.

In 2022 he made the jump to the Arizona Complex League. While he didn't struggle, his numbers from his initial season regressed as he hit for a .263 average and posted a 95 wRC+ over 38 games.

The Guardians decided to have him repeat the Arizona Complex League level for the 2023 season.

Scouting Grades

Hit - 50

Arm - 50

Power - 40

Field - 50

Run - 55

Overall - 40

The Venezuelan outfielder has great bat speed and makes hard contact consistently showing the ability to barrel up the baseball. After hitting just one home run in his first two seasons over 73 games he showed much improved pop in 2023 with six long balls and 19 extra base hits in just 36 games. Some of this power can be contributed to him adding more muscle and starting to fill out in the 2022 off-season.

Gonzalez is athletic and has a chance to become an above average centerfielder. He has average to above-average speed and if he doesn't stick in center field, he could easily transition to a corner outfield spot. His arm currently grades out as average.

2023 Stats

G

AB

H

R

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

AVG

OBP

SLG

ISO

OPS

wRC+

36

130

39

51

 9

 4

 6

 26

17

38

21

.300

.410

.569

.269

.979

  139

Gonzalez put together one of the top offensive performances in the Arizona Complex League in 2023. While he was repeating the level from 2022 he showed much improvement and probably should have earned a promotion to Low-A Lynchburg during the season.

In 36 games he led the league with a .269 ISO from his 19 extra base hits that included 9 doubles four triples and six home runs. Gonzalez also finished second in league in runs scored with 51 and tied for second in slugging at .569 on the year. He also stole 21 bases on the season showing a nice blend of power and speed.

Gonzalez .979 OPS finished tied for fifth in the league and his 139 wRC+ was good for 10th best. He also hit for a .300 average and posted a .410 on-base percentage that finished just outside the top ten in the league.

One concern is that his strikeout rate increased to 24.4% from 20.6% in 2022. He did increase his walk rate from 9.0% in 2022 to 10.9% this year.

On defense he split time in center field with top prospect Jaison Chourio and when he wasn't in center, he was usually out in right field.

2024 and Future Outlook

Look for Gonzalez to start the year at Low-A Lynchburg for the 2024 season. If he's able to repeat his 2023 performance in the Arizona Complex League he could easily see a promotion to High-A Lake County during the season. 

Two things to look for in 2024 from Gonzalez is the power increase for real as the Carolina League in which Lynchburg plays was the toughest league in 2023 to hit home runs. Also, can he lower or cut down on his strikeout rate or will it increase as he continues to see tougher pitching as he progresses through the minors.

If Gonzalez continues to show the ability to make hard contact and drive the ball moving forward along with his above average speed and solid defense his ceiling could be that of potential average MLB center fielder. His floor currently would be that of a platoon bat vs RHP or a fourth outfielder.

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Todd Paquette
TODD PAQUETTE

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