Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Stats

In Commentary And Analysis, News And Rumors by GW21 Comments

miguel alfredo gonzalez

Updates: The Dodgers are reportedly out on Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. If interested in more defector profiles, and comparisons to MAG, here are Dalier Hinojosa, Odrisamer Despaigne, Aledmis Diaz, Dariel Alvarez, Alexander Guerrero, and Misael Siverio.

The latest Cuban defector to draw serious attention from Major League teams is Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. I’m not sure who is representing him, but they have definitely found the on switch for the hype machine. CBS reporter Danny Knobler hears that he could draw upwards of $60 million in a deal.

The Cubs are said to have serious interest in addition to the Dodgers, Red Sox, Angels, and Rangers. Gonzalez was showcased in Tijuana on Friday night in front of about 45 scouts. The Red Sox alone sent 8 scouts. The Cubs were heavily represented. The Dodgers took a different tack, sending only their representative from the Cayman Islands along with a pen, napkin, and small table well-suited for sliding said napkin across.

I don’t doubt that Gonzalez will get paid, as he is coasting in the wake of Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, and Aroldis Chapman (grrr…) into a market with money to burn. For all the hype, though, it’s surprisingly difficult to for casual box score readers such as myself to determine whether he’s any good. Given that, I decided to see if I could wrangle up his stats from la Serie Nacional. I may not be the lackey you deserve, Internet, but I am the one that you need.

 

Scouting Profile

First things first, though. Gonzalez is a 6′ 3″ righty who definitely looks the part. His fastball reaches the mid-90s and he also features a curve, cutter, and changeup.

 

Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez Stats

Team Age G GS IP W L AB TBF H R ER ERA K BB BBI 2B 3B HR
2005 Hav 18 19 0 40.3 1 1 50 30 6.70 30 18 2
2006 Hav 19 12 0 33.7 1 0 34 15 4.01 23 8 3
2007 Hav 20 17 11 79 5 8 89 45 5.13 36 24 3
2008 Hav 21 17 17 101 7 5 106 43 3.83 36 24 14
2009 Hav 22 18 18 126 8 4 132 40 2.86 101 30 7
2010 Hav 23 16 15 99.7 6 6 377 401 92 39 33 2.98 77 16 2 16 1 6
2010* Hav 23 3 3 18 1 1 67 83 18 10 10 5.00 7 9 2 5 0 1
2011 Hav 24 16 16 113 8 5 423 465 111 47 40 3.19 74 29 2 15 2 9
2011* Hav 24 3 2 11 0 2 41 53 12 9 8 6.55 9 8 2 6 0 0
2011** Cuba 24 19.7 3 0 71 13 6 5 2.29 26 5
2012 Art 25 2 2 3.3 0 1 14 19 6 5 4 10.81 1 1 0 2 0 1
2013 Tij 26 2 2 6 22 5 1 0 0.00 11 0 0 3 0 0
Total 650.7 668 273 3.78 431 172 46

 

Age IP K/9 BB/9 H/9 HR/9 K% BB% dt K/9 dt BB/9 dt HR/9 dt NERA
2005 18 40.3 6.7 4.0 11.2 0.4 6.1 5 1.1 8.46
2006 19 33.7 6.1 2.1 9.1 0.8 6.3 2.6 1 3.9
2007 20 79 4.1 2.7 10.1 0.3 4.0 3.2 1.2 6.85
2008 21 101 3.2 2.1 9.4 1.2 6.6 3.5 1.8 6.04
2009 22 126 7.2 2.1 9.4 0.5 6.9 2.6 0.9 3.08
2010 23 99.7 7.0 1.4 8.3 0.5 19.2 4.0 6.8 2.1 0.9 3.66
2010* 23 18 3.5 4.5 9.0 0.5 8.4 10.8
2011 24 113 5.9 2.3 8.8 0.7 15.9 6.2 6.5 3 1 4.56
2011* 24 11 7.4 6.5 9.8 0.0 17.0 15.1
2011** 24 19.7 11.9 2.3 5.9
2012 25 3.3 2.7 2.7 16.2 2.7 5.3 5.3
2013 26 6 16.5 0.0 7.5 0.0 50.0 0.0
Total 650.7 6.0 2.4 9.2 0.66
*Playoffs
**Baseball World Cup
Sources: Clay Davenport, beisbolencuba.com, baseball-reference, torosdetijuana.com, granma.cubasi.cu

While his numbers are on the whole are somewhat underwhelming, I think some caution is in order:

  • The strikeout revolution never hit Cuba. For the 2011 season, the league average strikeout rate was around 4.6 per 9, with walks at 4.0 per 9. Those levels haven’t been seen in this country since long before the Jamesian partisans made their stand. I have to think this is the reason that Gonzalez’s periphs hold up OK in Clay Davenport’s wonderful translations (as denoted by “dt” prefixes in the lower table).
  • Gonzalez hasn’t really pitched for any significant stretch since that 2011 season. He was suspended after unsuccessfully trying to flee the island, and during that suspension had bone spurs removed from his elbow. Those spurs could well have impacted his prior performance.
  • His two appearances in Tijuana have been excellent; he struck out 11 of the 22 batters he faced. (I don’t know whether this includes his Friday start ). On the other hand, the Toros are in a minor league in Mexico, and they may or may not have featured the great Ricardo Rincon for a handful of innings this season (cue Brad Pitt fist pump).

On the whole, I think it’s safe to say that as prospects go, Gonzalez is not on the level of Our Oldest Chap, Man. If any team is betting on him as a mid-rotation starter, as is suggested by the dollar amounts being tossed around, that decision is going to be one made largely by scouts. The good news is that in contrast to other Cuban defectors, Gonzalez previously pitched for the Cuban team in worldwide tournaments in 2009 and 2011. When combined with his most recent exhibitions, the scouts have had plenty of chances to get a look at him.

 

Cuban Fans Weigh In

Miguel Alfredo, don’t let the good birds’ songs put you to sleep. Wake up man, your future is great, but there is only one life. (El coco translation c/o SVB)

 

Prediction

I’m not putting anything past the Dodgers. Their rotation is somewhat depleted at the moment with Josh Beckett out for the year, Ted Lilly on the DL, and Chris Capuano and Zack Greinke struggling. I could easily see a 5/$65 deal from the nouveau riche squad. If prices do reach that level I won’t be disappointed if the Cubs bow out.

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Comments

  3. Akabari

    @ dmick89:
    Am I the only one who wondered when all the Cub fans were posting they were so happy that Marmol is gone thought “How does Camp still have a job?”

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  5. dmick89

    @ Akabari:
    I wondered the same thing. Not that I wouldn’t have done with Marmol what the Cubs did, but with this bullpen there’s no celebration in getting rid of someone so that another shitty pitcher can take his place. I’m still wondering why the Cubs weren’t just happy with what they got from Camp last year. No reason to re-sign him.

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  7. dmick89

    I can’t wrap my head around the Cuban League strikeout rate for pitchers. Out of curiosity, GW, what were the rates of some of the guys who have played in the US?

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  9. Author
    GW

    @ dmick89:

    Well, Aroldis was at ~10K/9 over there with ~5BB/9. So he was fine, but then again he does throw 100+. Yunesky Maya was around 7.5 K/9, 3 BB/9. Looks like Francisley Bueno was in the mid 5’s. Who else…

    Jose Contreras was 9.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 his last year there (2002). Looks like league averages for that year were 5.4 and 3.4.

    Clay doesn’t have data back into the 90’s, so I don’t know about the hernandez brothers.

    Not really a lot of data points to work with. Am I missing someone?

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  16. SVB

    Miguel Alfredo, no songs of birds let you sleep good. Wake up man, your future is great, but life is one. (El coco c/o google translate)

    Google translate is pretty worthless….try this instead:

    Miguel Alfredo, no dejes que cantos de pajaritos buenos te duerman. Despierta man, tu futuro es muy grande, pero la vida es una sola.

    Don’t let the good birds’ songs put you to sleep. Wake up man, your future is great, but there is only one life.

    It’s like the tortoise and the hare, or “Don’t rest on your laurels”

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  21. Gus

    Couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only did he get the 60 mil, he went to a team you didn’t even mention was interested.

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