Jacob Gonzalez, Luis Ortiz named Pirates' minor league teammates of year

Jacob Gonzalez grew up in a major-league clubhouse by tagging along with his father, Luis, a five-time All-Star left fielder and 2001 World Series hero for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Getting to watch him all the time and just the way that he interacted with everyone in the whole building and see how he carried himself throughout the day and the work that he put into it and getting to know everybody, I think that helps on the field, as well,” Jacob Gonzalez said on a video conference call before a game in the Arizona Fall League, where he’s playing for the Surprise Saguaros. “I definitely learned a ton from him growing up.”

Not only was Gonzalez was one of the most accomplished minor-league prospects for the Pittsburgh Pirates this past season, but they rewarded his ability to connect with fellow players.

The Pirates named Gonzalez and pitcher Luis Ortiz as their Manny Sanguillen teammates of the year Wednesday. The award is given to players within the Pirates’ farm system who best exemplify the two-time World Series champion catcher’s passion for the game and ability to build friendships among teammates.

Gonzalez, 24, who was selected from the San Francisco Giants in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, ranked second among all Pirates minor leaguers with a .305 batting average this past season in a combined 112 games between Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro. He was player of the week twice in the Florida State League and once in the South Atlantic League. When he was promoted to Greensboro on May 10, Gonzalez ranked third in all of the minors in batting (.393), seventh in OPS (1.129) and 10th in OBP (.477).

Jacob Gonzalez is hitting .560 this season. Yes, you read that right. pic.twitter.com/fF47sCyfVu

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) April 18, 2022

“I think that it’s been awesome, the way that it’s player-driven here,” Gonzalez said of coming to the Pirates’ farm system. “Everything is a conversation. Just the different perspectives that they bring into the training and the pregame work and just everything that goes into your whole day is a fresh perspective. I really enjoyed it this year, and it definitely had a positive influence on me.”

Ortiz started the season with Double-A Altoona and finished it with the Pirates, making a dazzling major-league debut in the second game of a doubleheader at Cincinnati. He touched triple digits six times, hit 99 mph on the radar gun 26 times and recorded five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in the 1-0 victory.

Luis Ortiz flashed electric stuff in his MLB debut ⚡️⚡️

The @Pirates' No. 30 prospect racked up 5 strikeouts over 5 2/3 frames of 1-hit ball: pic.twitter.com/vWJ6Jpx9Ij

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 14, 2022

The 23-year-old right-hander finished second among all Pirates minor leaguers with a combined 138 strikeouts between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis. He was named Altoona’s pitcher of the year after recording the fourth-most strikeouts (126) in a single-season in Curve history.

“I’ve just seen him punch a lot of people out,” Gonzalez said of Ortiz. “I haven’t got to see him up close yet, but I’ve watched from afar and it’s pretty special.”

The Pirates also named Jonathan Prieto, who coached in the Florida Complex League and at Altoona, the Danny Murtaugh coach of the year. The honor is awarded to the Pirates minor-league coach who has had the biggest impact on the development of talent throughout the season and named for the late Pirates manager who led them to two World Series championships.

Prieto, who has been a member of the Pirates organization for two-plus decades, worked with the fourth-youngest group of hitters in the league with an average age of 20.8 years. After seven seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League and two in the Dominican Summer League, Prieto coached at Jamestown in 2014, West Virginia from 2015-18 and Bristol in 2019.