Inside the origins of Jacob Gonzalez's power surge with Pirates

This story was excerpted from Aiden Stepansky's Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- Jess Gonzalez was walking out of his classroom at Downey (Calif.) High School last September when he received a text from his son Jacob, then a shortstop in the White Sox organization. The message was simple, telling his father he was going to try striding closed in his at-bats later in that evening’s game.

Jess, who has coached Downey’s baseball team for 26 seasons, had encouraged his son to try out the swing change for a few years now. From the first swing Jacob took, Jess saw a difference.

Jacob Gonzalez, now with the Pirates, used the swing change to unlock more power in his first MLB season. After making his Major League debut for the White Sox on May 31, Gonzalez was acquired by Pittsburgh in a trade with Chicago on July 10 to fill a void at shortstop left by Konnor Griffin’s injury.

Gonzalez, who already has two home runs with the Pirates, has belted 23 overall on the season across Triple-A Charlotte, Chicago and Pittsburgh. With Gonzalez’s closed stride, he’s working up the middle of the field more while standing upright rather than crouched.

“The hardest part was getting over the mental [aspect] of, ‘I've always hit like this my whole life,’ and going to something completely different and expecting it to be the same,” Gonzalez said. “I hit good when I was low, and then standing upright, I'm going to hit just as good. Whereas when I was younger, I always wanted to look cool in the box, but I couldn't.”

Gonzalez completed his swing transformation in the offseason and Spring Training while working with White Sox director of hitting Ryan Fuller. Gonzalez was forced to keep his body more aligned by practicing with a band around his waist, resisting movement toward the plate.

Gonzalez played for Charlotte on July 10, when he was pulled after two innings. His mind began to race, and he scrolled social media to try to figure it out. Jess was watching both the Knights and the White Sox, knowing no one on Chicago’s active roster was injured to prompt a roster move to promote Gonzalez. He was sent with Brandon Eisert to the Pirates for the 34th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and Jaden Woods.

Long before reaching Pittsburgh, Gonzalez followed the instructions of his father. Jess played at Cerritos Junior College in Norwalk, Calif., before transferring to the University of Wyoming. He bounced around professionally before becoming a teacher and coach.

Jess said he realized around seventh grade that his son was able to play at least at the Division I level. Gonzalez was always tall and lanky growing up. Along the way, Gonzalez continued to tweak his swing to find areas of comfort.

“A lot of times he didn't even know I was coaching him. I just turned it into a game,” Jess said. “I'd be putting him in positions like, ‘Hey, do this, do this, do this.’ And to him it was just fun growing up. And to me, it was like, ‘OK, you got to be able to hit a ball the other way.’”

As the son of a coach, Gonzalez was ready from the beginning once he reached Ole Miss. Rebels head coach Mike Bianco said it was apparent from when Gonzalez stepped on campus that he was going to contribute quickly. Hitting coach Mike Clement felt that after watching Gonzalez for two weeks in the fall, the coaching staff knew they had their shortstop for the next three years.

When recruiting Gonzalez to Ole Miss, Clement said he saw the hit tool to all fields but not much power. When he jumped into SEC action, Gonzalez’s power was unleashed, with 40 homers in three seasons. As Gonzalez helped the Rebels to a national title as a sophomore, Bianco saw him be unafraid to try different things at the plate.

“He wanted to be coached, and so he certainly had some set ideas of what he was and what it was going to take for him to be good, and the foundation of that certainly came from Jess,” Bianco said.

Jess’s iPad is filled with video of left-handed hitters, as he enjoys breaking down hitters across all levels. He pointed out Alek Thomas to Gonzalez, and hopes his son emulates Ketel Marte’s ability to stand close to the plate.

Jess sees Gonzalez getting better swings more consistently already in 2026. To him, that’s the key to any success going forward.

“His attack angle is better, and so he's created more leverage, and is in a better position to hit,” Jess said. “What I've been saying, especially this year, I go, ‘Hey, whatever you do, just make sure you get off a good swing.’”