Nicholas James Tepesch (born October 12, 1988) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the Texas Rangers,

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Career

Amateur

Tepesch was drafted by 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 ...

in the 28th round of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

out of the

Blue Springs High School Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. state of Missouri within Jackson County. Blue Springs is located east of downtown Kansas City and is the 9th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population w ...

Blue Springs, Missouri Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. state of Missouri within Jackson County. Blue Springs is located east of downtown Kansas City and is the 9th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was ...

but he did not sign and attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, where he 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 ...

for the

Missouri Tigers baseball The Missouri Tigers baseball team represents the University of Missouri in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Missouri Tigers had an overall record of 2053-1339-17 entering the 2012 season. Head coaches Year-by-year record CB=''Collegiate ...

team. In 2008 and 2009, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 14th round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

and signed for $400,000.

Minor leagues

In 2012, while pitching for the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, Tepesch and Jimmy Reyes combined to throw the second

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in Pelicans history.

Texas Rangers

Invited to spring training in 2013, Tepesch won the Rangers fifth starter job. On April 9, Tepesch went innings and gave up four hits, three walks, one run, and struck out five while getting the win in his major league debut against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. He ended the 2013 season with a record of 4-6 with a 4.84 ERA in 19 games (17 starts). The following season, he started 22 games for the Rangers, going 5-11 in 126 innings. Tepesch missed the entire 2015 season with inflammation in his throwing elbow. He also underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. He was non-tendered at the end of the 2015 season, and had previously rejected a minor league deal. However, on January 27, 2016, Tepesch re-signed with the Rangers on a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training. On June 5, 2016, Tepesch asked and was granted his release from the Rangers.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Tepesch signed a minor league contract with the

on June 6, 2016. After three starts for the AAA

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

, his contract was purchased by the major league team and he was added to the roster and called up to make a start against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on June 24. He allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings to take the loss and was designated for assignment after the game.

Oakland Athletics

On June 27, 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Kansas City Royals

On July 18, 2016, Tepesch was once again claimed off waivers, this time by the Royals.

Minnesota Twins

On January 11, 2017, Tepesch signed a minor league deal with the

. He was released on June 7, and re-signed on June 13.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 23, 2017, Tepesch was traded to the

for cash considerations. He was called up from the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on August 9 for a start against 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 ...

where he took the loss. He was designated for assignment on September 2. Tepesch elected free agency on October 6, 2017. He signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on March 3, 2018, and was invited to spring training.

Detroit Tigers

On August 8, 2018, Tepesch was traded to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in exchange for cash considerations, and assigned to the Double-A

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

. Tepesch appeared in just 8 games for the SeaWolves before he was released on August 27.

Lincoln Saltdogs

On March 19, 2019, Tepesch signed with the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. On August 10, 2019, Tepesch retired from professional baseball after securing a victory for the Saltdogs.

References

External links

Missouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tepesch, Nick 1988 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Falmouth Commodores players Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Lincoln Saltdogs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Missouri Tigers baseball players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Nashville Sounds players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Omaha Storm Chasers players Rochester Red Wings players Round Rock Express players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players