Cleveland Indians 2017 top prospects: No. 17, Erik Gonzalez

After making his Major League debut this past season, Erik Gonzalez comes in at number 18 on our Cleveland Indians 2017 top prospect countdown.

Who is Erik Gonzalez?

Despite dropping two spots from 2016, Erik Gonzalez made his big league debut in 2016 with the Cleveland Indians. The 25-year-old originally joined the organization back in 2008 when he was signed as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic; however, he didn’t see action in full-season ball in the states until 2013. Originally a shortstop, he’s become a super utility player of late, all seven non-battery positions.

He’s been a member of the Tribe’s 40-man roster for the last three seasons and spent most of 2016 with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers before getting some time in with the big league club. He was also named an International League All-Star this past summer and shined in the Triple-A All-Star game.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Throughout his minor league career, Gonzalez has been a hard prospect to rank. He spent two years in the Tribe’s Dominican League and another two years stateside at Rookie Level and Short-Season Mahoning Valley. He finally got a shot at playing shortstop, his natural position, in 2013 at Class-A Lake County and Advanced-A Carolina.

He immediately impressed at the position, showing off great range and a plus arm. He lived in the shadow of fellow shortstop prospect Francisco Lindor, but Gonzalez’s defense is up there with the best of them. In fact, Baseball America rated him as the best defensive infielder in the Tribe system and as well as having the best arm among infielders.

Offensively, Gonzalez has impressed as of late as well. He hit .296/.329/.450 at Triple-A Columbus in 2016, while adding 11 home runs and 31 doubles in 429 at-bats. It was his best power display since 2013 at Lake County where he hit nine home runs in 355 at-bats.

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Gonzalez does have a nice 6-foot-3 frame that suggests there is some hidden power potential, it’s just a matter of him tapping into it more.

Where Gonzalez really struggles is getting on base. While he has hit at a solid clip in the minors (.274 career average), he’s struggled to draw enough walks. That came to a head this past year when his walk rate dipped to just 4.1 percent.

His career .316 minor league on-base percentage leaves much to be desired, at least in a starter. He does add some decent speed, which shows up more on defense than offense, but he stole 21 bases back in 2014 and 12 this past year (though was caught 10 times).

Where does he go from here?

Heading into the offseason, it appeared Erik Gonzalez was destined to either be designated for assignment this spring or begin the season as the Tribe’s Opening Day utility infielder. He had used up his third, and potentially final minor league option in 2016.

However, the Indians got some good news in a fourth option year for Gonzalez, thanks to how little time he had in full-season ball before being added to the 40-man back in 2013. This allows the Indians to send Gonzalez back to Triple-A Columbus and play every day if they want.

Gonzalez is still competing for the big league utility job along with the likes of Michael Martinez and Ronny Rodriguez, though. The recent news that Jason Kipnis likely won’t be ready for Opening Day also opens up a spot for Gonzalez. There’s a very realistic chance he could open the 2017 season as the Tribe’s starting third baseman or second baseman, depending where they want to play Jose Ramirez.

Gonzalez has very little left to prove in the minors so it would seem foolish to some to send him back to Triple-A. However, the Cleveland Indians are still big fans, with manager Terry Francona saying just last spring that the “sky is the limit” for Gonzalez. He definitely has the skills to be a big league player, possibly an everyday shortstop for a contender.

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The problem is that the Indians have so much depth on their infield with Lindor, Ramirez, and Kipnis that it remains hard to picture where Gonzalez fits in. For now, he’ll provide depth, either at Triple-A or off the big league bench, filling in for injury.