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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Kick Off Arizona Fall League Season

By Marty Leap

Feb 29, 2020; Las Cruces, NM, USA; NMSU junior Nick Gonzales warms up before the New Mexico State Men's Baseball team faces off against Purdue Fort Wayne in the first game of a double header at Presley Askew Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan J Fish/Sun-News via USA TODAY Network
Feb 29, 2020; Las Cruces, NM, USA; NMSU junior Nick Gonzales warms up before the New Mexico State Men's Baseball team faces off against Purdue Fort Wayne in the first game of a double header at Presley Askew Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan J Fish/Sun-News via USA TODAY Network /
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Wednesday night a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects kicked off the 2021 Arizona Fall League season with each collecting a hit

While the Major League Baseball postseason is fall from over, offseason baseball has begun. Wednesday evening the 2021 Arizona Fall League season kicked off. This included two highly rated members of the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system being in action.

While seven Pittsburgh Pirates prospects will play in the AFL this offseason the two who were in action for the Peoria Javelinas were second baseman Nick Gonzales and outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba.

In a 6-5 loss for the Javelinas, Gonzales started at second base and hit second in the batting order. The 2020 first-round draft pick was 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk. However, he also struck out and left 4 runners on base.

Getting at-bats in the AFL will be nothing short of productive for Gonzales. Coming off a strong first professional season with High-A Greensboro in 2021 Gonzales is looking to make his MLB debut in 2022. Gonzales will likely begin the season with Double-A Altoona, where he likely would have gotten in 2021 if not for missing six weeks due to an injury. Regardless of when it happens, sooner rather than later Gonzales will be at second base and the top of the lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Smith-Njigba also collected just a single hit in the loss. This hit, however, went for extra bases as he picked up a double. Smith-Njigba also drew a pair of walks, finishing the game 1-for-3 with his double and a pair of walks. Like Gonzales, he also left 4 runners on base.

Smith-Njigba will start the 2022 season with Triple-A Indianapolis where he accumulated his final 23 plate appearances of the 2021 season. Smith-Njigba will look to get off to a hot start in 2022 as he looks to push for his first taste of MLB action.

Next. 2021 Prospect Season Recap: Maikol Escotto. dark

As the AFL season continues we will continue to have you covered with all the latest updates on how Pirate prospects are performing. Make sure to stay tuned here at Rum Bunter throughout the AFL season, as well as the entire offseason for all and any Pirate news.

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