PITTSBURGH – Just 57 days after Joey Ortiz got promoted to the Baltimore Orioles, Nick Gonzales has been promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Gonzales is the No. 5 prospect in the Pirates organization and the No. 8 second base prospect among all organizations, according to MLB Pipeline. The former Aggie will wear uniform No. 39 
 
The lone first round selection in NM State history, the former walk-on was the seventh overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft. When Gonzales' name was called, he also became the first player in school history to be selected by the Pirates.
 
Gonzales will become the eighth NM State alum to make it to the Major Leagues, joining former teammates Ortiz and Kyle Bradish, both of whom are currently with the Baltimore Orioles. Friday also marks the first time in program history that three former Aggies are on active MLB rosters at the same time.
 
In 57 games with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, Gonzales has hit .257 with 25 extra base hits, including six home runs. In the month of June, the middle infielder has hit .270 with five multi-hit games to earn his promotion to Pittsburgh.
 
The sure-handed defender has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over 33 games at second base. Gonzales has sprinkled in 22 additional games between third base (14) and shortstop (8), fielding at a .906 rate.
 
While at NM State, Gonzales acquired nearly every accolade imaginable. The Vail, Ariz. native was the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year, an eight-time All-American, three-time Freshman All-American, Academic All-American, member of the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List, 2019 NCAA batting champion (.432), Cape Cod League MVP,  
 
Gonzales will join the Pirates for the second game of a four-game set in Miami. From there, the Pirates will return to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, June 27 to kick off a six-game home stand against San Diego and Milwaukee. Friday's game between the Pirates and Marlins will begin at 4:40 p.m. MT
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