[7][8] He was just the second player in Ole Miss baseball history to be named an All-American as a freshman. Heading into the sixth inning it looked as though Southern Miss was cruising. Juaron Watts-Brown worked the first six innings, Evan OToole the next two and Nolan McLean the final frame. He also has tremendous plate discipline, as he has more walks (88) than strikeouts (66) at Ole Miss. Wyatt Langford, Ty Evans and Josh Rivera all hit home runs, with Riveras blast being a first-inning grand slam. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Lets Play Ball! Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. CBS Sports also threw their hat in the ring and put all three top SEC prospects under the microscope and had this to say about Gonzalez: "Gonzalez is another decorated SEC performer who seems destined to come off the board early next July. Still, he has middle-of-the-order upside and that makes him a name worth knowing. Ole Miss baseball outfielder TJ McCants isn't sure if his close friend Jacob Gonzalez has a pulse. Mason Nichols shut down the mighty Terps offense over the final two innings to secure the win and give the defending national champs an opportunity to take the series on Sunday after Maryland won game one on Friday. After a 2-run home run for Maryland in the third, the Rebs would answer with seven runs . Maryland responded with a run of their own in the top of the second, Ole Miss got that run back in the bottom of the frame and the Terps once again pulled to even with another run in the top of the third. Their bad start continued when Jacob Gonzalez stroked one over the right field wall for a leadoff homer that gave the Rebels an early 1-0 lead. The Rebels were also solid defensively, not committing an error in the series. With a pair of wins over both Ohio State and Gonzaga, Grand Canyon is now 6-2 on the season with a rather impressive resume already through the first two weekends of the season. He's willing to walk. Gonzalez missed time this fall after spraining his MCL on a collision at second base, allowing some other players to get reps at short and giving the Rebels some insurance at the position, but hell be 100 percent well before opening day and will serve as the centerpiece of the Ole Miss offense and defense. Sometimes its unfair when youre that good and theres such a high expectation that you go 2-for-4 with 7 RBIs and people act like its a normal day at the office. The biggest knock on Bradfield is power; he's homered just nine times in college, and he doesn't project for even fringe-average pop. He has a mature approach to the plate, taking more walks than Ks, which is good to see for someone his age. He doesnt talk about the draft; he doesnt bring that up. He scored 72 runs on 93 hits, 12 home runs and 55 RBI. After an eventful postseason leading up to Omaha, Gonzalez struggled offensively until Game 2 of the national championship series, where we went 3-for-4 at the plate and came up clutch in an eighth inning rally to ultimately deliver a national title. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers. It's hardto simultaneously be the best baseball player in Omaha and an overlooked contributor on your own team. As a team, Ole Miss is hitting .392 with six doubles, a triple and eight home runs. Defensively, Gonzalez turned 19 double plays and had 136 assists. Game Of The Day: No. ORU Relievers Dalton Patten and Cade Denton were especially stingy in this game, each striking out three in two scoreless innings forcing what will be an intriguing rubber match on Sunday. Not bad for a player who, coming out of high school, was known for his hitting prowess but was widely projected to have to move off shortstop to third base. Of the top-5 prospects, all five currently play in the Southeastern Conference. Some evaluators wonder if he'll slow a bit and have to shift to third base or second base, but if so he'd be able to profile as a quality regular at either position.". He also continued to show a very advanced approach at the plate, with many more walks than strikeouts, all coming while playing a premium position. Indeed, Gonzalez's strikeout rate this past season was just under 11 percent; for a comparison point, the SEC average was around 21 percent. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. , SS, Ole Miss Bat control and zone awareness might be Gonzalez best tools as he rarely chases the ball out of the zone. In the field he will be able to stick at short thanks to his smooth and easy action in the field. My first at-bat he threw me a slow breaking ball and I didnt realize how slow it actually was, Gonzalez said. Luke Becksteins second inning grand slam in game one seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day as Northeastern won a pair of games against Indiana State on Saturday to move to 4-1 on the year, now taking each of their first two weekend series after beating UNC Greensboro a week ago. Things quickly changed in the sixth when Illinois scored three runs to make it an 8-6 game. , the premier shortstop in college baseball, an on-base machine with 30 career home runs in two seasons and elite defensive ability. BA Newsletter: Get Analysis, Rankings Delivered To Your Inbox! Gonzalez is on the bigger end for a shortstop at a listed 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and he hasnt played shortstop his whole life, coming to the position full time only during high school. Gonzalez isn't being guarded. On Saturday they started by beating Gonzaga in a barnburner, 17-16, and then edged Ohio State, 7-5. Now that Jacob Gonzalez isavailable in the next draft cycle. Jacob Gonzalez Mississippi Glendora (HS) CA 6-2 185LBS L/R Rankings 2020 National Rankings available to Premium Subscriber Log In Subscribe to PBR Plus 2020 State Rankings available to Premium Subscriber Log In Subscribe to PBR Plus Commitment Mississippi 2020 PBR DRAFT Rankings available to Premium Subscriber Some people just have it all.". NC State starter Matt Willadsen struck out eight Belmont hitters over the first six innings in which he allowed just one base hit and two walks. Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain. 10 Vanderbilt beat No. Not because of anything specific he's done. Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez is atop FanGraphs' top draft prospects rankings for 2023 (not to be confused with minor league first baseman Jacob Gonzalez). Defensively, Gonzalez is athletic and possesses above-average arm strength. Gonzalez was named to the 2022 USA Baseball National Collegiate Team last month. @__dc4__ | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/kfTglzkPMX. Now, Gonzalez enters 2023 as a likely high first-round pick. https://soxmachine.com/2022/12/way-too-early-2023-mlb-mock-draft/, 3. In the second game the UCSB pitching staff provided much of the same, seeing Reed Moring strike out six over the first 6 2/3 innings. He finished second on the team in RBI (52), total bases (135), and home runs (18). Through 610 plate appearances, Gonzalez is slashing .316/.424/.560. He had a .355 average, an OPS of 1.004. We dont need aSS, so I think ifGonzalez is available, he will be drafted elsewhere anyway. It tied the sixth most Rebels drafted in program history. https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/top-college-prospects-for-2023-mlb-draft.html, https://www.oddschecker.com/us/insight/baseball/mlb/20220803-2023-mlb-mock-draft-ranking-the-top-30-2023-mlb-draft-prospects, https://www.mlb.com/news/2023-mlb-draft-mock, https://baseballprospectjournal.com/2023-mlb-draft-10-college-players-to-know/, All the 2023 Draft Prospects in the Macks Mets database can be viewed by going to. Unsigned FA Jurickson Profar to play in WBC, Orioles, Pirates play final half-inning without umpires, MLB hires three to ramp up 'local media' department, Report: Padres sign Rougned Odor to minor-league deal, 10 MLB positional battles ahead of Opening Day, How the Dodgers can replace Gavin Lux after injury. With two outs to start the second, Rivas walked three straight to load the bases for Elijah Lambros. According to Major League Baseball's pipeline prospect rankings released recently, junior Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez is a top-5 prospect (No. [4] He went undrafted in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at Ole Miss to play college baseball. Bear in mind that there are more than five worthwhile players, and that we're not saying these five players will necessarily go in the top five or even the top 10 (though we do expect them all to make our top 30 list next preseason). There's another slice of the universe out there somewhere where Clark succeeds Bradfield as Vanderbilt's starting center fielder. Now that Jacob Gonzalez isavailable in the next draft cycle. He led Ole Misswith 93 hits and 73 runs scored. I think thats why hes so good. Justin Trimble had the biggest of those hits, a two-run home run in the fourth. Feb. 25Three Ole Miss pitchers had combined on a two-hitter through five innings at Swayze Field Saturday. You can submit your questions here. The common refrain about Gonzalez from his teammates is he doesn't get high or low. "He doesn't really care," McCants says. In two seasons to date, he's batted .327/.433/.456 with more walks than strikeouts and an otherworldly 93 stolen bases on 99 attempts. A lead off homer by Jacob Gonzalez got things started as Ole Miss would score early and often in this one. But that kind of performance is almost ho-hum for an almost sure-fire, first-round draft pick. "I never even knew Ole Miss was a school," Gonzalez admits. Many eyes will be on the stud shortstop from Glendora,California. Gonzalez was named the starting shortstop for Ole Miss as a freshman in 2021. "Never even thought about college when I was a kid. Gonzalez makes lots of contact with plus exit velocities and budding power. is atop FanGraphs top draft prospects rankings for 2023 (not to be confused with minor league first baseman Jacob Gonzalez). We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! He'll need to make adjustments in pro ball because he can get overly pull-happy when he hunts home runs. and clicking on 2023 DRAFT PROSPECT DATABASE found on the top, left of the front page of the site. 13 Maryland 6. But Gonzalez just might be. Gonzalez has made a tremendous impact offensively in his first two years at Ole Miss. In two seasons at Ole Miss, he's batted. The 2023 Ole Miss Rebels will begin their national title defense on Friday, February 17 when they begin a three-game series with Delaware at Swayze Field. Were the guys that bring it up and tell him hes the Preseason All-American or projected to be whatever in the draft. The final out Sunday, which occurred in the bottom of the seventh ending the game by the 10-run rule, happened in appropriate fashion. In two seasons at Ole Miss, he's batted .316/.424/.560 with 30 home runs and 22 more walks than strikeouts. Every at-bat. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT with TV coverage yet to be determined. Crazy finish in Hattiesburg, Carson Paetow with the game winner after Illinois overcame a significant deficit, Southern Miss then rallied back in the 9th, 10th and 11th to tie, tie and then win the game in walk-off fashion @SouthernMissBSB pic.twitter.com/iOb6S2eIHP, Upset Of The Day: Bowling Green 9, No. Gonzalez is one of the rare prospects with a high floor and an intriguing blend of upside and up-the-middle value. The duo has come a long way since that time. Gonzalez has been a force from the moment he stepped foot in Oxford, seemingly destined to carry the torch of elite shortstops that came before him, like Don Kessinger, Grae Kessinger, Zack Cozart and Errol Robinson, just to name a few. After the Eagles kept the Illini off the board in the top of the 11th inning, Southern Miss loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit batter. DURHAM, N.C. -Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez has been invited to the 2022 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, which will be managed by Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco this summer.. - In recent years, Ole Miss has been a pipeline to the major league baseball draft. Hes the tweet. He also hit 18 home runs and scouts say he's got a great eye at the plate." The Wolfpack scored six of the first seven runs courtesy of long balls: Payton Green hit a solo home run in the second, Carter Trice hit a three-run blast in the fourth and Green added a two-run shot in the fifth. In 2022 he earned first-team All-SEC honors as the league's top shortstop. 1 LSU at the Karbach Round Rock Classic. I guess thats the punishment for being so good.. Some evaluators wonder if he'll slow a bit and have to shift to third base or second base, but if so he'd be able to profile as a quality regular at either position. 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