Angel Gonzalez (minors03)

Angel Rafael Gonzalez

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 194 lb.

• Born December 28, 1985 in Santiago, Santiago D.R.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Angel Gonzalez was a minor league infielder.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in January 2003 and hit .260 for the DSL Pirates that summer. He improved to .285 with 7 triples and 15 steals for the 2004 DSL Pirates. In 2005, he hit .274/.313/.328 with the GCL Pirates. Moving up to the Williamsport Crosscutters in 2006, the 20-year-old produced at a .274/.313/.328 rate and stole 15 bases in 25 tries. He also made 25 errors, leading the New York-Penn League's shortstops.

Gonzalez split 2007 between the Hickory Crawdads (.282/.329/.356) and Lynchburg Hillcats (.254/.276/.321), overall fielding .898 at short with 45 errors. Despite not being an everyday player (he appeared in just over 100 games), he was 5th in the affiliated minors in miscues.

Gonzalez bounced between Lynchburg (.251/.281/.337, 19 SB, 13 CS) and the Altoona Curve (.278/.293/.381 in 29 G) in 2008. He cut his error total to 30. Angel struggled in 2009 between the Hillcats (4 for 29, 2 BB) and Altoona (.192/.255/.256) while fielding only .846 at short and .894 at third (.947 at second). Pittsburgh released him in April 2010.

He later played for the Dominican national team. In the 2011 Pan American Games, he was 4 for 16 with a walk, hit-by-pitch, three runs and two errors in four games as their main shortstop. During the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, he was 1 for 6 with an error, primarily backing up Victor Mercedes (another ex-Buc farmhand) at 2B for the Bronze Medal winners. He entered the Bronze Medal win over Puerto Rico early and did his share, going 1 for 4 with a run and RBI after replacing Mercedes.

He was listed as a switch-hitter in the Pirates organization, even if his BR Minors page lists him as batting only lefthanded.

Sources include 2009 Pirates Media Guide, 2006-2010 Baseball Almanacs