In 2024 Nick Gonzales had an OPS of .707 and a wRC+ of 94. Both of these stats are just below league average in 2024. Where Nick Gonzales excelled was at being clutch.
Fangraphs has a Clutch metric which describes how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. Essentially, it is used to measure how much better a player hits when there are runners in scoring position or when the game is on the line. The league leader in this metric in 2024 was Brandon Nimmo at 2.62. Jurickson Profar came in at a close second at 2.61. After them there was quite a dropoff with Daulton Varsho coming in at 2.26.
Nick Gonzales scored 1.24 in Clutch making him the 22nd most clutch hitter in 2024. His OPS was slightly below average, his wRC+ was slightly below average, and his 1.3 fWAR was slightly below average for an MLB starter in his 387 plate appearances in 2024. To figure this, I assume a full season is 502 plate appearances, and determined how much WAR Nicky G would have produced if he played 502 plate appearances. He would have produced at that same pace a fWAR around 1.688.
So last year Gonzales was not a special hitter so why was he so special in the Clutch? I think it is because of his quick wrists. His scouting report when he was drafted touted his quick wrists. Quick wrists are used to adjust to the pitch quickly and generate more power in just the wrist movement. You cannot generate a lot of power with the wrists alone, but if your wrists are quick enough you can use it to hit the ball with enough velocity in a direction you want to put it. The wrist is going to be used to make the final adjustment to the pitch and put the ball in play. I can remember from 2024 Nick Gonzales having the ability to poke a ground ball or soft liner through the infield when the infield is shifted. I do not know of any other Pirate that does this consistently. I have seen Cruz do this sometimes, but he usually swings hard and adjusts with his knees.
I am thinking the Pirates may be trying this with Nick Yorke in AAA evidenced his greater success while having weaker contact on almost all pitch types. The Pirates need clutch to take advantage of a lack of baserunners. Having another Nick Gonzales type player will certainly help here, and hopefully Nick Yorke can be that guy.