Chi Chi Gonzalez


Alexander "Chi Chi" González is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. González goes by Chi Chi, a nickname given to him by his grandfather. He has previously played for the Texas Rangers.

Career

Amateur

Gonzalez was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Boca Raton Community High School. Rather than sign with the Orioles, Gonzalez attended Oral Roberts University, where he was an accounting major. In 2012, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Texas Rangers

He was drafted by the Rangers in the 1st round of the 2013 MLB Draft. He made his professional debut with the Spokane Indians and also played for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Prior to the 2014 season, Baseball Prospectus rated Gonzalez as the 70th best prospect in baseball. He started the season with Myrtle Beach before being promoted to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. He started 2015 with the Triple-A Round Rock Express.
Gonzalez was called up to the majors for the first time on May 30, 2015 and made his MLB debut that day. He faced the veteran lineup of the Boston Red Sox and began the game pitching 5 2/3 innings without surrendering a hit. It was the longest no-hit stretch to begin a career for a Rangers pitcher since 1992. On June 5, 2015, Gonzalez threw a complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals.
It was his first career complete game. Gonzalez was optioned down to Triple-A Round Rock July 4, 2015. Gonzalez was diagnosed with a partial tear to the UCL in spring training of 2017. He was declared to need Tommy John surgery, ending his 2017 season plus the whole 2018 season. On November 2, 2018, Gonzalez elected free agency.

Colorado Rockies

On December 4, 2018, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. On June 25, 2019, his contract was selected by the Rockies.