Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Slow start in spring games
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Gonzalez has gone 2-for-11 over four Cactus League games.
Both of Gonzalez's hits are singles, and he's added an RBI and two strikeouts. The second-year outfielder enters 2023 as the projected starting right fielder for the Guardians, but he will need to maintain the strong hitting he displayed as a rookie last year. Gonzalez slashed .296/.327/.461 with 11 home runs and 27 doubles over 91 contests in 2022. If he struggles early in the season, Will Brennan, Gabriel Arias, Tyler Freeman or Roman Quinn could potentially challenge Gonzalez for playing time.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Produces three hits in win
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Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Royals.
Gonzalez has fended off a challenge for playing time from Will Brennan with a hot bat lately. The former has gone 27-for-85 (.318) over his last 20 games to maintain a starting role, mainly in right field. Gonzalez's three-hit effort Sunday lifted his batting average to .295 with a .790 OPS, 11 home runs, 43 RBI, 36 runs scored, one stolen base and 26 doubles through 88 contests this season.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sleeper hitters for Week 26 (Sept. 26-Oct. 5)
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Gonzalez has been swinging a hot bat for all of September, having recently enjoyed a two-homer game, and should benefit from the Guardians having the fourth-best hitter matchups this week. They're facing the Royals six times over a nine-game span.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Cranks two homers
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Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with two solo homers in Saturday's win over the Rangers.
Gonzalez took Glenn Otto deep to lead off the fifth inning and make it a 1-1 ballgame. The outfielder came back in his next at-bat in the seventh and hit a solo shot off Brock Burke to give the Guardians a 2-1 lead. Gonzalez now has six home runs in September to go along with 18 RBI and 12 runs scored.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sleeper hitters for Week 25 (Sept. 19-25)
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The matchups could be better, no doubt, but the bottom line is that Gonzalez is severely under-rostered at 47 percent, especially now that his power stroke is beginning to come through with four homers in his past 11 games. With all the scrubs I'm having to call sleepers this week, I can't afford to balk at Gonzalez's matchups.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Possible waiver wire pickups
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We've been waiting for Gonzalez's power to manifest during what's been an impressive rookie season otherwise, and it looks like it's finally happening. Four of his nine home runs have come in his past 10 games, a stretch during which he also has four doubles. His high-end exit velocities rank among the top 10 percent in the league, and because his strikeout rate is only 21 percent, it doesn't seem like batting average will be a major concern for him moving forward. Certainly in five-outfielder leagues, he's a must at this point, and it's not a bad idea to add him even in three-outfielder leagues. His matchups next week could be better, but it's hard to imagine anyone with his availability being any more appealing.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Smacks eighth homer
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Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Angels.
Gonzalez put the Guardians ahead with his sixth-inning blast off Angels starter Jose Suarez. The homer was Gonzalez's third in his last five games, matching his total from all of August. He's been better in September, hitting .319 (15-for-47) with 11 RBI, six runs scored and four doubles through 12 contests. The rookie outfielder is up to a .291/.327/.470 slash line with eight homers, 34 RBI, 25 runs scored, one stolen base and 24 doubles through 284 plate appearances.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Homers twice in win
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Gonzalez went 4-for-5 with a three-run home run and a two-run home run in a 7-6 victory over the Twins on Friday.
Gonzalez powered his team to an important victory with playoff implications by launching two homers. He tallied five total RBI in the first multi-homer game of his career. Gonzalez has been a bright spot for the Guardians after Franmil Reyes disappointed the team with his performance before being let go at the beginning of August. Gonzalez is now slashing .296/.327/.474 with seven long balls in 253 at-bats in his rookie season.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Delivers game-winning hit
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Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI in the Guardians' 6-5 extra-inning win over the Royals on Monday.
Both of Gonzalez's RBI came on his one-out double in the top of the 10th inning, which proved to be the difference in the Guardians' one-run triumph. Gonzalez has stepped back into an everyday role in the outfield since being activated from the injured list Aug. 2, slashing .280/.309/.432 with three home runs, one stolen base and 12 RBI in 30 games over the past month.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sleeper hitters for Week 23 (Sept. 5-11)
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Gonzalez has cooled of a bit over the past couple weeks, but his strikeout rate is still respectable and quality of contact still high. Don't be surprised if he launches a couple homers against pitchers like Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch, Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer this week.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sleeper hitters for Week 22 (Aug. 29-Sept. 4)
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The Guardians matchups this week -- which include pitchers like Spenser Watkins, Jordan Lyles and Kyle Bradish -- are decent enough for you to take a shot on a player who may finally be on the verge of meeting his power potential. In all, Gonzalez is batting .300 (27 for 90) with three homers in August.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Possible waiver wire pickups
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The Guardians clearly have faith in Gonzalez, choosing to DFA Franmil Reyes and option Nolan Jones right about the time he returned from an intercostal strain in early August, and seeing as he's hit .338 (25 for 74) with three homers since then, their faith in him appears to be justified. One area where the 24-year-old hasn't quite performed up to expectations is in the home run column, but he just hit his second in as many games Wednesday, perhaps marking the start of a turnaround. He's in the 91st percentile for max exit velocity and homered 31 times in 121 minor-league games last year, so you know it's in there. His lack of walks may limit his usefulness in points leagues, but in five-outfielder Rotisserie leagues, just pick him up already.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Knocks homer in win
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Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Padres.
Gonzalez opened the scoring when he took Padres starter Mike Clevinger deep to left field in the second inning. Since returning to action Aug. 2, Gonzalez has gone 24-for-70 (.343) while maintaining a regular role in right field. He's up to a .306/.332/.472 slash line with four homers, 22 RBI, 18 runs scored, a stolen base and 20 doubles through his first 50 major-league games.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Slugs in home win
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Gonzalez went 2-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Tigers.
Gonzalez tallied two RBI doubles -- the first off Daniel Norris in the third inning and the second off Alex Lange in the eighth. The outfielder's power has surfaced of late with a .517 slugging percentage in 60 at-bats during his last 15 games. Gonzalez's walk rate -- which has been low all season -- has bottomed out as he has not recorded a single walk over 84 at-bats in his last 23 games.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Swipes first bag
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Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Tigers.
The 24-year-old rookie stole his first career base in the majors while extending his scorching-hot August. Gonzalez has hit safely in 10 of 11 starts since coming off the injured list at the beginning of the month, slashing .340/.340/.426 with four doubles, three runs and three RBI, but his 0:10 BB:K suggests a correction could be coming.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sleeper hitters for Week 20 (Aug. 15-21)
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The Guardians are clearly committed to playing Gonzalez, having DFA'd Franmil Reyes and all but benched Nolan Jones for him, and the rookie has continued to pile up multi-hit games. There's more power to be revealed, and it may show up in a four-game series against the Tigers to open the week.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Resting Wednesday
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Gonzalez isn't starting Wednesday against the Tigers.
Gonzalez started the last four games and went 6-for-16 with a double, two RBI, a run and two strikeouts. Nolan Jones will shift to right field while Will Benson serves as the designated hitter.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Two hits, two RBI in win
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Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a two-run double and a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Tigers.
Gonzalez notched a single in the sixth frame before ripping a two-RBI double in the eighth inning and coming around to score on a Josh Naylor base knock. The 24-year-old now owns a six-game hit streak, batting .375 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored over those contests.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Sits against righty
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Gonzalez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.
After being reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Gonzalez picked up consecutive starts -- one against a right-hander and one against a left-hander -- and went 3-for-8 with a home run, a double and two RBI. Though the righty-hitting Gonzalez will take a seat Thursday versus Astros righty Justin Verlander, it's not yet clear if the rookie will be part of a strict platoon in right field with the lefty-hitting Nolan Jones, who rejoins the starting nine after a two-game hiatus. Instead, manager Terry Francona could be inclined to deploy the duo in a timeshare, with the hotter bat of the two potentially emerging as the clear-cut No. 1 option.
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Guardians' Oscar Gonzalez: Returns to lineup
Rotowire
Gonzalez (intercostal) is returning from the 10-day injured list Tuesday and batting seventh as the right fielder versus Arizona, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
The outfielder slashed .285/.315/.431 with a pair of home runs and 14 RBI in 32 games before getting injured at the end of June. Gonzalez should see frequent playing time going forward, assuming he picks up where he left off and produces near the bottom of Cleveland's lineup.
