WATCH: A big-leaguer by 2025? Ole Miss star shortstop Gonzalez a sleep away from realizing MLB dream
Ole Miss star shortstop Jacob Gonzalez is sure to be the first Rebel off the board when the 2023 MLB First Year Player Draft opens on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT.
The draft will take place on ESPN and run through Tuesday.
Gonzalez has held steady as a consensus first-round projection since he officially became draft-eligible over a year ago. The most recent round of mocks released this week had Gonzalez going as high as No. 6 overall to the Oakland Athletics. His low-end was No. 14 to the Boston Red Sox.
In short, Gonzalez is a safe bet to become Ole Miss’ eighth first-round selection in school history.
The most recent Ole Miss first-rounder was right-handed pitcher Gunnar Hoglund. Hoglund was taken No. 19 overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021. However, he was later traded to the Athletics in a deal that netted the Blue Jays All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman.
Gonzalez produced all-time-great results as a Rebel. He started every one of a possible 186 games over his three-year Ole Miss career. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 65 starts as a sophomore — a year in which he led the Rebels in runs scored (73), walks (73) and triples (3). Gonzalez finished second in RBI (52), total bases (135) and home runs (18). He was third in slugging percentage (.558) and hits (66).
He went 3 for 4 with a solo home run, two RBI and two runs scored in the national-title-clinching game against Oklahoma last June. The Rebels secured their first-ever championship with the win.
RELATED: What Ole Miss fans should keep an eye on with the MLB Draft
Gonzalez is but a sleep away from realizing a lifelong dream.
However, to hear his Ole Miss coaches and teammates tell it, Gonzalez was a superstar the minute he stepped foot on campus. A generational talent.
So, becoming a big-leaguer is nothing more than the next step in the process.
“We saw him come in as a freshman and perform,” Ole Miss assistant coach Carl Lafferty said, in a pre-draft profile on Gonzalez released Saturday by Ole Miss Sports Production.
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“We saw him perform in the national championship game. You’ve seen him do it on every stage. When you put that into one complete package, that’s how you go, ‘OK, this guy’s a big-leaguer.’
“Then you look at it from the work-ethic side. You have to be a different animal to play at the highest level. That dude works. That dude works as much as anybody in our program.”
Gonzalez was a two-time All-American and three-time All-SEC honoree as a Rebel. He led all true freshmen nationally in hits and runs scored in 2021.
“It’s the year 2023, correct?” Ole Miss captain Garrett Wood said in the profile linked below. “(Gonzalez) will play in the big leagues in 2025. He’ll be a shortstop in the big leagues. That’s what I think.”
