{"id":38563,"date":"2025-04-05T02:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T02:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38563"},"modified":"2025-04-05T02:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T02:51:14","slug":"red-sox-bullish-on-big-strong-animal-power-hitting-prospect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38563","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Bullish on \u2018Big, Strong Animal\u2019 Power-Hitting Prospect"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Gonzales.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Gonzales.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Gonzales.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Justin-Gonzales.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Justin Gonzales\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"532\" data-dom-ready-time=\"836\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Boston Red Sox prospect Justin Gonzales<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At just 17 years old,\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Boston Red Sox<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0prospect\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Justin Gonzales<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0turned heads last season in the Dominican Summer League with his impressive raw power. Over 47 games and 192 plate appearances, he posted a .517 slugging percentage, collecting five home runs, 11 doubles, and four triples.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite that, the Red Sox believe there\u2019s even more power in his bat waiting to be unlocked. The player development team\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">is focused on helping him<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0drive the ball higher more consistently.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cHe\u2019s obviously got a physical advantage right now because he is like 6-6 and just a big, strong animal,\u201d said assistant GM Eddie Romero.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Looking ahead to 2025, Gonzales is a breakout candidate within the Red Sox system. He\u2019s expected to begin the year at extended spring training in Fort Myers before joining the Florida Complex League Red Sox.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Justin Gonzales Already No. 15 Prospect in Red Sox System<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There\u2019s real buzz about his potential to rise in the organization\u2019s rankings this summer.\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">MLB Pipeline<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0already lists him as the No. 15 prospect in Boston\u2019s farm system, highlighting his elite exit velocities, quick right-handed swing, and overall offensive upside. His approach in the DSL also stood out, with strong plate discipline and contact skills.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The organization\u2019s emphasis right now is on improving his launch angle. \u201cHe\u2019s really taken well to the training,\u201d Romero said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a big, strong kid already who has a good feel to hit, a good feel for contact. So we just need to make a couple of minor adjustments on his launch angles and things like that,\u201d Romero said. \u201cAnd those really low line drives, we can start getting him to elevate it a little bit more and more and find some gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Justin Gonzales\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"auto\">Named Boston\u2019s 2025 Latin Player of the Year<\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"c6468e7a06da938d65ba85c426eb9a5d\" class=\"embed_container\">\n<div class=\"lazy-embed lazy-embed--ssr embed-instagram-com lazy-embed--loaded\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/red_sox_information\/reel\/DHMPVKMPS7A\/?api=WhatsApp%E8%90%A5%E9%94%80%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B6%2F%F0%9F%A7%A7-%5B%E8%AE%A4%E5%87%86%E5%A4%A7%E8%BD%A9TG%3A%40TC2397431747%5D-ws%E7%BE%A4%E5%8F%91%2Fws%E5%8D%8F%E8%AE%AE%E5%8F%B7%2Fws%E7%AD%9B%E9%80%89%2Fws%E6%8E%A5%E7%B2%89%2Fws%E6%8B%89%E7%BE%A4%2Fws%E4%BB%A3%E5%8F%91%2Fws%E6%B3%A8%E5%86%8C.ikbv&amp;hl=ne\"><iframe id=\"instagram-embed-0\" class=\"instagram-media instagram-media-rendered\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DHMPVKMPS7A\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=656&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fheavy.com&amp;rp=%2Fsports%2Fmlb%2Fboston-red-sox%2Fboston-bullish-on-prospect-justin-gonzales%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A400967.60000002384%7D\" height=\"1126\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-instgrm-payload-id=\"instagram-media-payload-0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gonzales signed with the Red Sox on Jan. 15, 2024, for $250,000 as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The power-hitting prospect mentioned in September that\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">he\u2019s still growing<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. His father is 6-4, and his mother stands at 6-3 \u2014 so more size may be on the horizon.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Despite his youth, Gonzales has shown a mature approach at the plate. In the DSL, he hit .320 with a .391 OBP, tallying nearly as many walks (19) as strikeouts (20). He sprays the ball to all fields and models his style of play after Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., striving to match his energy and flair.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Named Boston\u2019s 2025 Latin Player of the Year, Gonzales is splitting his time between first base and the outfield.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Scouts are particularly high on his arm, with MLB Pipeline assigning it a 70 grade (plus-plus) on the traditional 20-80 scale.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s really intriguing overall,\u201d Romero said. \u201cI know that we\u2019ve played him some in center field throughout the spring and we\u2019ll do that in extended some and kinda go from there. But give him every chance. If not, he can definitely profile in a corner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Boston Red Sox prospect Justin Gonzales At just 17 years old,\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0prospect\u00a0Justin Gonzales\u00a0turned heads last season in the Dominican Summer League with his impressive raw&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Red Sox Bullish on \u2018Big, Strong Animal\u2019 Power-Hitting Prospect - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=38563\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Red Sox Bullish on \u2018Big, Strong Animal\u2019 Power-Hitting Prospect - 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