Nicholas B. Nelson (born December 5, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Career

New York Yankees

Nelson attended Rutherford High School in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

. He drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in the 31st round of the 2014 MLB draft, but did not sign and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Gulf Coast Community College Gulf Coast State College is a public college in Panama City, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and offers the Associate of Arts degree, Associate of Science degree, certificates, and as of 2011, bachelor's degrees. History The ...

. He was then drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

and signed. Nelson made his professional debut with the

Pulaski Yankees The Pulaski Yankees were a minor league baseball team based in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. They were an Advanced Rookie League team in the Appalachian League. The team played its home games at Calfee Park. They were affiliated with several ...

, going 0–3 with a 3.38 ERA over innings. He pitched 2017 with the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

, compiling a 3–12 record with a 4.56 ERA over 22 starts, and 2018 with Charleston,

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

and

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

, pitching to a combined 8–6 record with a 3.55 ERA over 26 games (25 starts) between the three teams. He pitched 2019 with Tampa, Trenton, and the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, going 8–3 with a 2.81 ERA over 18 games (17 starts), striking out 114 over innings. Nelson was added to the Yankees' MLB roster on July 26, 2020. He made his MLB debut in the August 1 game against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, pitching three shutout innings in relief, and was credited with the win. He finished his rookie campaign making 11 appearances and logging a 4.79 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. In 2021, Nelson made 11 appearances for the Yankees, but struggled to an 8.79 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. In a larger sample size with Triple-A Scranton, Nelson worked to a 3.81 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 29 games.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Yankees traded Nelson and Donny Sands to the

for T. J. Rumfield and Joel Valdez on November 19, 2021. On September 9, 2022, he recorded his first career save, pitching in relief of

Brad Hand Bradley Richard Hand (born March 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto ...

in a 5–3 victory over the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. In 2022, Nelson worked mainly as a

long reliever A long reliever or long-relief pitcher is a relief pitcher in baseball who enters the game if the starting pitcher leaves the game early. Long relievers often enter in the first three innings of a game when the starting pitcher cannot continue, w ...

, making 47 appearances for the Phillies and registering a 4.85 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 68 innings of work.

Personal life

Nelson is married to his wife, Abigail. At the time of his MLB debut, his daughter, Hynleigh, was 11 months old.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Nick 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Charleston RiverDogs players Clearwater Threshers players Gulf Coast State Commodores baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Sportspeople from Panama City, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players Pulaski Yankees players Reading Fightin Phils players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tampa Tarpons players Trenton Thunder players