The White Sox have recalled pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez, one of the prospects acquired from Boston in the Garrett Crochet trade. It’ll mark Gonzalez’s first taste of the Majors after an exciting, yet problematic run in the Minors given his command troubles.

A Look at Gonzalez

Wikelman Gonzalez was one of the Red Sox’s best pitchers, in terms of upside. However, Boston cashed in on that upside when the Red Sox traded him, along with Chase Meidroth, Braden Montgomery, & Kyle Teel for Garrett Crochet.

Gonzalez began to shine as a prospect when he made it to full-season ball in 2021, two years after a strong, controlled run in the DSL back in 2019. Two seasons later, Gonzalez struck out 168 over 111 innings between High-A and Double-A. Opposing batters that season only hit .190.

Last season in Portland, Gonzalez struck out 92 over 83 innings.

The one major issue with Gonzalez during his time in the Red Sox organization was the walks. Gonzalez walked 70 during the 2023 campaign, and 46 the year afterwards. That command problem also bit him in another way, as he plunked 10+ batters in both the 2022 and 2024 campaigns.

Gonzalez worked as a starter in his first month with Birmingham (AA), before moving into a multi-inning relief role with Charlotte (AAA). The move worked somewhat better, as Gonzalez posted a 3.07 ERA in May across 14.2 IP, and a 1.80 ERA across five June innings.

The 23-year-old fastball isn’t a big one, at least when it comes to relievers. Gonzalez’s fastball capped out at 96-97 MPH as a reliever and doesn’t have big IVB (15.4”). However, Gonzalez’s fastball comes from a low arm slot, advantageous in today’s environment for adding deception.

The four-seamer got a lot of swing-and-miss action: 31.3% to be exact in Triple-A.

Aside from the four-seamer, Gonzalez works in a two-seamer, curveball, changeup, and slider. His two-seamer is a true two-seamer, with no sink and all running action. The curveball was his swing-and-miss secondary offering (35.2%); it’s a high-70s offering with action to the glove side.

The White Sox recalled Wikelman Gonzalez on June 20. Davis Martin was placed on the injured list.

Analysis

With Gonzalez now in the Majors, that makes three of the four pieces who were acquired for Crochet have made it to the MLB level.

Now, a relief role suits Gonzalez much better. It’ll mask the risk for Gonzalez, a highly potent pitcher, albeit one with a big arm swing and serious command issues. But given his experience as a starter and the arsenal, it does give the White Sox options with how the team uses him.

Gonzalez can be used either as a one or two-inning option.

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