‘Relentless’ Miami-Dade catcher wills his way to MLB Draft
Careful what you say around former Miami-Dade College catcher Juan Gonzalez, who is now a part of the Toronto Blue Jays organization.
Gonzalez, who was drafted in the 19th round last week by the Jays, has been known to protect his teammates from anything said or done by the opposing team.
“His passion for the game is something I haven’t seen in a long time,” MDC coach Adrian Morales said. “The kid works relentlessly hard and has a really good arm.
“Because his defense is so good, I can see him eventually becoming, if not a starter, a backup in the majors.”
That would be a great result for Gonzalez. Landing anywhere on a major-league roster — starter or backup — can be a life-changing event.
But Gonzalez, 20, is such a competitor, he doesn’t want to hear the “backup” word.
“Hell no,” Gonzalez said. “[Morales] is mistaken. I’m not going to be a backup.”
He certainly was a starter in his one year at MDC, beating out four other catchers. Gonzalez hit .319 with nine doubles, one triple, one homer and a .410 on-base percentage in 35 games as MDC went to the 2021 Junior College World Series in Colorado, finishing seventh. The Sharks also won their first state title since 2014.
Gonzalez, who made first-team all-conference, hit .400 against left-handed pitchers.
“He crushes lefties,” Morales said.
But despite his statistics, Gonzalez nearly went undrafted as Toronto waited until the next-to-last round before making the pick.
“Before that call, I was worried,” Gonzalez said. “But then I felt happiness. I felt blessed. I cried. I called my father, and he cried.”
Gonzalez, the fourth of five brothers and the only athlete in the family, was born and raised in Venezuela, where he witnessed drug dealing and gang violence.
“I lived things kids should not see,” Gonzalez said in Spanish. “I used it as motivation.
“[The drug dealers] weren’t bad people. They told me, ‘You have to get out of here. You are different. We don’t want you to be like us.’”
Gonzalez made it out and settled in Miami for his junior and senior years of high school at Hialeah Champagnat Catholic School.
Morales, who first saw Gonzalez at a 2020 tournament in Jupiter, had him work with MDC catching coach Rudy Arias.
“When I first worked him out, I told [Morales], ‘This kid is a different animal’,” said Arias, who spent nearly two decades as a bullpen coach with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, winning a World Series ring with the Bronx Bombers in 1996.
“Juan brings fire and energy every day. He is special.”
Arias said defense is Gonzalez’s ticket.
“He shuts down the running game,” Arias said. “But the pitching will be even tougher at the pro level, and he will need to adjust.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Perhaps no local baseball player got drafted into a more intriguing situation than Angels sixth-rounder Jake Smith. The Miami Hurricanes right-hander will have tremendous competition because all 20 of the Angels’ draft picks are pitchers.
▪ One year after the Hurricanes lost their entire starting rotation, coach Gino DiMare will have to reconstruct again. Besides Smith, Victor Mederos transferred to Oklahoma State. That leaves Alejandro Rosario (5.21 ERA) and Jake Garland (5.69 ERA) left among the four pitchers with the most starts in 2021.
▪ Baseball coach Paul Mainieri, who led LSU to a national title in 2009, has retired at age 63. He is a former Miami-Dade College player and a former St. Thomas University coach.