Former Giants Star Describes How Rising Prospect Josuar Gonzalez Impacts Game

The San Francisco Giants are banking quite a bit on the rise of last year’s top international free agent, Josuar Gonzalez.

A San Francisco Giants logo on the side of a gray uniform. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Few people in the San Francisco Giants organization can speak with authority on their prospects like Randy Winn.

Winn, who played for the Giants for five years, has worked his way through the baseball ranks since he retired in 2010. He spent four years as an analyst for Giants games on television, was a roving instructor for the organization and was a special assistant to the general manager. In 2019 he moved into scouting and last year he was elevated to vice president of player development.

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The Giants learned this week that they now have four Top 100 prospects per Baseball America (subscription required). One of this highly-rated teenage shortstop Josuar Gonzalez, who was their top international signing last year and had a tremendous year in the Dominican Summer League. For all the hype, there is a part of his game that Winn calls “exciting.”

Randy Winn on Josuar Gonzalez

A general view outside Oracle Park before a game. | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

He played his first professional season last year in the Dominican Summer League and posted an impressive .288/.404/.455 slash with four home runs and 24 RBI. With 10 doubles and five triples, he finished with 19 extra-base hits, scored 52 runs and stole 33 bases. Perhaps most impressive for an 18-year-old was that he walked (37) more than he struck out (36) in 191 at-bats.

Winn has studied his game for more than a year. Yes, he can hit and he believes there is power for the youngster to unlock. But as he told NBC Sports Bay Area on the “Giants Talk” Podcast, there is a part of his game that leaves Winn anticipating is next step.

“He's basically able to impact the game in more than one way,” Winn said. “He impacts it with his bat, he impacts it when he's on first base, pitchers have to think about him, he's able to steal, he goes first to third. He's a very exciting player, and then defensively he showed some real maturity. He has a good sense for the game in terms of game clock.”

Gonzalez was good enough last year to earn himself a trip stateside for 2026. San Francisco hasn’t assigned younger players to affiliates, but it’s possible Gonzalez could start the season in the Arizona Complex League, followed by a trip to Class-A San Jose to end the season. That would represent great progress as he tries to follow in Winn’s footsteps as a player and reach the Majors.

As a player, Winn was a speedy outfielder who carved out a 13-year career with five different teams, including five years with the Giants. He played for the franchise from 2005-09 and slashed .290/.345/.432 with 51 home runs and 292 RBI. Those represented the best offensive numbers at any of his five stops. He finished his career with a 27.5 bWAR.