This prospect could be 'playing tight end for somebody.' Instead he's ripping line drives

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- A couple of hours before Monday’s Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays, the man rated No. 6 for the Red Sox in the freshly updated MLB Pipeline prospect rankings was easy to spot.

As the team stood in the outfield prior to the pregame stretch, Justin Gonzales, a mammoth 6-foot-6 outfielder who is all of 19 years old, towered above his teammates.

His hit in the top of the ninth inning, however, wasn’t nearly as easy to see. If you even blinked, you missed it altogether.

Gonzales’ 117.3 mph line-drive single to left set off wows in Boston’s dugout. And for good reason.

Per Statcast, it was the second-hardest-tracked ball of Spring Training this year, behind Jac Caglianone's 120.2 mph double on Feb. 26.

In the Major Leagues last season, only 30 balls were tracked with higher exit velocity readings, many of them hit by players everyone has heard of, including Aaron Judge, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr., Giancarlo Stanton, James Wood, Oneil Cruz and Ketel Marte.

This isn’t to say Gonzales will pan out like any of those players, because it’s too early to say. There are so many more hurdles he must clear, multiple more Minor League affiliates he must test his skills at. But Gonzales clearly demonstrates that he has the tools to stand out on a baseball field, literally and figuratively.

“That body, look at him,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s only 19. Lucky for him, he's playing baseball. He was born in the Dominican. If not, he would be playing tight end for somebody. He’s a freak athlete.”

Before the hit that had everybody buzzing, Gonzales showed off his arm from right field on a 98.1 mph throw to third base that landed without a hop and with perfect accuracy. Blue Jays baserunner Carlos Mendoza wisely held at second.

“It looked like one of those showcases for him,” said Cora. “Threw the ball hard from right field, hit the ball at 117.”

With Boston’s strong outfield quartet of Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu all with their World Baseball Classic squads currently, prospects like Gonzales will get a chance to shine on the big field.

On Monday, along with No. 2 Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias, who got the start at shortstop, Gonzales was a Minor League extra called up for the day.

The prospects made the most of their opportunity. Arias started a pretty double play in the bottom of the first inning, shoveling the ball directly from his glove to second baseman Vinny Capra.

Though Gonzales didn’t enter the festivities until the bottom of the sixth inning, he made his presence felt.

“I'm happy for that hit,” Gonzales said through interpreter Carlos Villoria-Benitez. “And I think it’s the first time I hit the ball that hard, so I’m very happy for it. That's something that I like to do. I try to hit the ball hard, and also that's something that I've been working on, trying to be more consistent hitting the ball hard.”

Next in the progression will be for Gonzales to hit the ball in the air more often. If he can do that, the home run distances should be something to watch.

Defense is just as important to Gonzales.

“That's something I've been working on in the offseason back home and also here at Spring Training, trying to be more accurate with my throws from the outfield,” said Gonzales. “And that's a result of the hard work that we put in day in [and] day out and in the field.”

The Red Sox signed Gonzales for $250,000 in January of 2024 as part of their international free-agent class. He progressed to High-A Greenville for the final 11 games of last season after an 81-game stint for Single-A Salem.

One thing that jumped out early in camp for Cora is that Gonzales would come into the dugout at JetBlue Park and watch Major League drills. That isn’t common for a Minor Leaguer.

“He loves playing the game. That's what everybody's saying,” said Cora. “You see him [earlier] in Spring Training, whenever we were doing drills, he was always in the dugout. And the live BPs, he will always stop by and watch. And that tells you a lot.”