Victor Gonzalez No Longer Invisible

During the current season with all of its oddities I have been most interested in a few of the Dodger players. That is, not the big boys but those most recently to the scene. I have already written about Will Smith who might just be my new favorite Dodger. He is a player and I love his clean cut appearance and work ethic but as a high draft pick he is not a surprise to me.

Beyond Will, I am pleased that Zach McKinstry has signed his time card to MLB. It will not be  this year but he has demonstrated he can be a MLB player. Next year he will get a turn although it might not be with the Dodgers, depending on what happens with Kike Hernandez.  I am delighted with another player I have followed closely since his time with the Loons in 2015. Who could have guessed he would currently have a K/BB ratio of 23/2 at the MLB level? Victor Gonzalez had to  battle his way through pretty much unnoticed on a path littered with obstacles, some of them seemingly self-inflicted.

Gonzalez was  signed as an international free agent out of Tuxpan, Mexico way back in 2012. He was part of the same signing group as the much heralded Julio Urias. Both left-handers were scouted by legendary scout Mike Brito whose most famous discovery was another left-hander – Fernando Valenzuela.  The two young left-handers were not teammates on their paths to MLB through the Dodgers minor league system.  They had been teammates in Mexico as 15-year-olds on the Diablos Rojos del Mexico in the Mexican Baseball League and now are teammates again.

Whereas Urias had an explosive beginning to his professional career, Gonzalez stumbled at the starting line. He did provide a bit of a fleeting glimpse of what might be to come in his 2013 season with the Arizona League Dodgers. He posted a 3.79 ERA over 38 innings along with 45 strikeouts and 12 walks.

His second season on the Dodger farm did not go as well. With the Ogden Raptors in 2014 he posted an unsightly ERA of 6.09 over 54.2 innings giving up 79 hits while striking out 45 and walking 22. However, that was as an 18-year-old. Perhaps things would even out in 2015 with the Loons as Julio Urias had dominated at the Class-A level.

Gonzalez did moved on to the Loons for the 2015 season. Things again did not go well and on the season he posted a 5.49 ERA giving up 75 hits over 57 innings pitched with 16 walks and 45 strikeouts. 

His 2016 season with the Loons seemed to be a good step forward.  He final stats showed an ERA of 3.61 which was about middle of the pack for the league. He pitched 94.2 innings allowing only 79 hits and struck out 104, second only to Dennis Santana on the the Loons staff. The new issue was control as he walked 44.

Another bump in the road came in 2017 as he had to submit to the surgeon’s knife with the now-so-common Tommy John surgery which wiped out his 2017 season and most of 2018. At the same time Julio Urias had anterior capsule surgery. They rehabbed together and lived together in Arizona. Although they were similar in age Urias became a mentor to Gonzalez.

Gonzalez returned to the Great Lakes Loons in June of 2018, now still at Class-A in his fifth professional season. It was a season to forget.  In six starts, he recorded a 5.61 ERA over 25 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .314 with an .819 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. After giving up  five runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Dayton Dragons he left the scene and flew home to Mexico. At that moment he didn’t want to play baseball anymore.

“I didn’t want anything to do with baseball,” González said in Spanish. “I didn’t want to play baseball. I couldn’t do things right. I was already 22 and I couldn’t improve. I stayed in the same leagues. I couldn’t advance.”

Back home in Tuxpan he was resolved to give up baseball but with the encouragement of friends he contacted the Dodgers to see if he could play in Mexico.  The Dodgers wanted him to pitch in the minors under their watch so perhaps with some reluctance he returned and was sent to Ogden, the rookie-league affiliate. His frustration didn’t cease as he allowed 13 runs in eight innings across four appearances with the Raptors.

“I’d come out after pitching and I’d cry,” González said. “I left the games crying because I couldn’t throw strikes.”

He pitched in the Mexican League following the minor league season and found some solace with the veterans in the league such as  long time major leaguer Sergio Romo, who lent their advice. He reported to spring training thinking the Dodgers would release him if he didn’t pitch well.

Something happened on the way to ball park in 2019.

After initially struggling in his return in 2018, Gonzalez rose through three levels in 2019. The 6-foot, 180-pound left-hander got his first taste of Double-A and Triple-A and thrived. In 89.2 innings among three levels, he recorded a 2.31 ERA with 93 strikeouts. He walked 32. Pitching as a starter and reliever, he dominated left-handed hitters, holding them to a .152 average. Instead of being released he was put on the  40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. So what happened with the previously discouraged Gonzalez? Perhaps it was maturity as the tools were always there. Will Rhymes explained.

“Coming off Tommy John . . . he just came out on a mission,” farm director Will Rhymes said. “His velo was a tick up. He was up to 98 (mph) last year during parts of the season. He’s got a deceptive look from the left side. It’s a pretty full arsenal. He has a firm slider, curveball and a good changeup.”

Rhymes also mentioned that Gonzalez has the weapons to get hitters out from both sides of the plate, but it is Gonzalez’s ability to dominate lefthanded hitters that could be his path to the big leagues.

“I think that’s it,” Rhymes said. “He’s a really good strike-thrower. We’d like to see him continue to work on his pitches, maybe developing some more swing-and-miss stuff and really just keep growing into his stuff.”

It should not be forgotten that Gonzalez and Julio Urias rehabbed together and roomed together during that time. The time together was good for both players providing a brother like bond between them. Now they are brothers in blue. This from Urias,

“Honestly, and I tell you this with my whole heart, I feel like he’s the best friend I’ve had so far in baseball since I came here,” Urías, 24, said in Spanish. “From the minor leagues through my entire trajectory, I feel like he’s the best friend I’ve had. I try to give him a lot of advice because he’s gone through a lot of family difficulties. I’ve tried to be there with him like a brother.”

Urías shared what he learned about being a big leaguer, how to behave in the clubhouse and stay positive when things go sideways.

“I’d lose myself quickly,” González said. “Whatever little thing happened in the game and I didn’t want to pitch anymore. So, I went about learning those things.”

“He would tell me I have a lot of potential to play good baseball. Now we’re together here on the same team,” González said. “It’s very emotional because he’s my best friend. It’s a big thing — very emotional to share this moment with him.”

On July 31, 2020 two years after he told the Dodgers he didn’t want to play baseball anymore, González took the mound at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks for his major-league debut. He gave up one run on three hits in one inning.

“For him it’s just the more he gets out there, I think the more comfortable he’ll be,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “He’s obviously got a high ceiling and a lot of upside. Victor’s going to help us.”

How much has he helped the Dodgers in 2020?  In 15 appearances over 20.1 innings he has posted a 1.33 ERA along with a 0.74 WHIP while striking out 23 and walking 2. Right-handed batters in 39 plate appearances hit .205 against Gonzalez while left-handers in 35 plate appearances hit .143. On the season he gave up only two extra base hits, both doubles.

Victor Gonzalez became the fifth Mexican left-handed pitcher to make his debut with the Dodgers behind Fernando Valenzuela (1980), Dennys Reyes (1997), Víctor Álvarez (2002) and the now fourth starter Julio Urías (2016).