9-News: 38.013 – Former Top Prospects Fight For Careers

[RonCo]

To confirm the old saw that time changes everything, we submit the cases of Jose Gonzalez (4/9/6/5/6 Talents) and Juan Lopez (6/7/7/4/7 Talents) as exhibits A and B.

Three seasons ago, Gonzalez was a lauded 17-year old hitting .327 in high school and trying to decide if he could be the team’s first two-way player. It was a package enticing enough that the Nine drafted him in the first round and gave him $1.2M for his autograph on the bottom of a minor league deal. He hit a little that first year, and pitched a little, doing well enough to make many hopeful. But there were signs even then that he was in for a tough road. Eventually he focused on pitching, but when that didn’t really pan out he and the team made a joint decision to move back to the outfield, where he finds himself today, battling to recover a career that looks to more AA than major league.

Likewise, Lopez, who came to the team shortly before Gonzalez’s arrival in a controversial deal that also included Mauro Saucedo (7/7/5/5/9 Talents). Lopez, however, has never had much success. He’s bounced between second and center, generally proving to scouts that their initial ideas on his ability to handle either role were over-blown, and in hitting in the low-.200s, showing that their ideas about his bat weren’t much better. “He’s been a slow developer,” said co-voice of the Nine Frankie Franklin. Truer words have never been said.

This brings us to spring training, 2038, where both players are trying to stake claims to their plaudits. If the first two weeks have anything to say, fans ought be paying attention.

Gonzalez, playing in left field, has hit .600 in 25 AB, blasting 4 doubles and three homers. Lopez, being only slightly out done, has hit .333/.364/.667 in his 30 AB, matching Gonzalez’s 4 doubles and hitting a pair of homers. Defensively, they’ve both been solid.

“I know what’s at stake,” Lopez, now 22 years old, said recently. “I want to play in the majors. That’s still the dream. But I know the clock is still ticking, and I know how old I am. I need to get out of A-ball. Never look back, you know?”

Yes, the fans know.

Gonzalez, too, seems hard-driven this spring. What’s not so certain, of course, is what all this means for their futures. Both are certainly going back to the minors when camp is over. Both have work to do, and people to impress. Things to prove. Still, it’s good to see them out there, making their cases.