Yankees' Nelson allows one hit in fifth win
It's been night and day for Nick Nelson this summer.The Yankees' No. 24 prospect allowed one hit over six scoreless innings for his fifth win as Tampa topped Jupiter, 5-1, on Thursday afternoon.Nelson, a 22-year-old right-hander from Florida, held the host Hammerheads to a single and four walks while striking
It's been night and day for Nick Nelson this summer.
The Yankees' No. 24 prospect allowed one hit over six scoreless innings for his fifth win as Tampa topped Jupiter, 5-1, on Thursday afternoon.
Nelson, a 22-year-old right-hander from Florida, held the host Hammerheads to a single and four walks while striking out five. He improved to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.79, throwing 50 of his 89 pitches for strikes.
"I felt pretty good," he said. "Rough first inning. I think I let my adrenaline get the best of me, but once I settled down, I was back in the zone more making better pitches. Got ahead on the fastball and got quick outs."
Sunshine in the Sunshine State has been a friend to Nelson so far this summer, whether he's realized it or not: in night games, the 22-year-old is 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 35 innings. He entered Thursday's start with a 0.81 ERA in four day games over 22 1/3 frames and lowered that mark to 0.63 with his latest effort.
"I did not know that, I really didn't think about that," he laughed when told his numbers. "I dunno. I don't have an explanation, but it's kind of cool."
Nelson worked around three walks in the first inning before settling in and throwing a flawless second. Jupiter picked up its lone hit off Nelson in the fourth when Roy Morales lined a single to right with one out before Nelson induced an inning-ending double play from Jhonny Santos.
He said he tried to place himself into a better mindset after the rocky first.
"I just refocused in the dugout. I was trying to do too much in the first," he said. "I just thought back to previous outings, to what I thought when I was going good and tried to get into that state of mind."
It worked. The righty pitched a 1-2-3 fifth and struck out two in the sixth to wrap up his afternoon. Kaleb Ort and Greg Weissert pitched the final three frames, allowing a run and four hits combined, to finish the win for Tampa.
Nelson, who has logged a season-high seven frames on two occasions this year, said he could have kept going.
"I definitely had a lot left in the tank," he said. "I wanted to get back out there for the seventh, but the manager came out an told me I was done. I could have gone out for the seventh."
Nelson has turned in consecutive starts of six scoreless innings and has allowed just one earned run in his last four outings, collecting three wins along the way, since June 24.
Box score: Yankees 5, Hammerheads 1
Nelson signed with the Yankees in 2016 after committing to the University of Florida -- New York drafted him in the fourth round that year, two years after the Giants selected him in the 31st round. Nelson bypassed San Francisco and instead spent two seasons at Gulf Coast Community College. He was the 128th selection in 2016 and went 3-12 with a 4.56 ERA in 22 starts last year with Class A Charleston. He began this season with the RiverDogs, going 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA in five outings before New York promoted him to Tampa on May 5.
After enduring a dozen losses last season, the righty said he's soaking in the success this year.
"It feels really good," he said. "Thankfully my defense and my hitters have my back each outing. I'm getting the confidence going into my next outing. [Today] was a big confidence-boosting outing going into next one knowing how good my stuff is."
Nelson said he's focused this year on reducing walks and controlling his changeup, even on days (or nights) when he doesn't have his best.
"Limiting walks and attacking the zone," he said when asked of his goals. "Staying in the lanes with my fastball and just locating the fastball and working on my changeup, mixing that in.. I'm working on that a lot. I'm just learning how to pitch when I don't have my best stuff and it's a cool feeling."
The Tarpons (47-43) pulled ahead in the first when Diego Castillo scored on a sacrifice fly from Isiah Gilliam and Dom Thompson-Williams followed with an RBI single up the middle. Gilliam homered in the third, his 11th of the year, and Tampa tacked on two more in the fifth on a sac fly from Castillo and another run-scoring single from Thompson-Williams.
Cody Poteet, a 23-year-old righty from UCLA, allowed five runs -- three earned -- on six hits and a pair of walks over five innings to fall to 0-2 for Jupiter. The 2015 fourth-round pick, who was demoted from Double-A Jacksonville on July 4, walked two and struck out six in the loss.
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.
Cubs' Rojas, Mets' Tong headline May's Minor League Players of the Month
Minor League Baseball announced the Player and Pitcher of the Month Award winners for May in Major League Baseball’s player development system.
Minor League Baseball, Joe Torre Safe At Home partnership enters ninth year
For the ninth year, Minor League Baseball and Joe Torre Safe At Home have teamed up to raise awareness about violence and abuse and to inspire fans of all ages to join them in SAH’s critical work. This year, 63 MiLB teams will participate in an in-ballpark initiative from May
MiLB podcast discusses Anthony, Caglianone at Triple-A
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
These are the greatest Minor League promos happening in June
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
New playoff format coming to 2025 Dominican Summer League
Minor League Baseball announced the 2025 Dominican Summer League (DSL) season will begin June 2 with Opening Day festivities taking place at the Boston Red Sox Academy in Guerra. The 2025 campaign will also see the introduction of the DSL Cup, a new playoff format that will see 16 DSL
Debating best Minor League home caps on podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
The Omaha Storm Chasers' 'Take Meow-t' cat night included a Litter Box Sundae
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Boston's Triple-A affiliate throws birthday bash for Roman Anthony
With all the hype that has surrounded Roman Anthony over the past two seasons, it’s easy to forget how young he really is. MLB's No. 1 prospect played 70 games at the highest level of the Minors before he could order a beer. But he can now. Roman Anthony turned
Friendly foes, 2024 first-rounders Moore and Caglianone trade first Triple-A homers
For years, Christian Moore and Jac Caglianone laced up their cleats against one another in the SEC. A rivalry that spanned Florida, Tennessee and other landmarks across the South moved to Salt Lake City this week as the Royals and Angels' top prospects got simultaneous Triple-A promotions. So it was
Phillies' Moore, Fausnaught join MiLB podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Red Sox prospect rips double THROUGH Fenway-esque scoreboard
Red Sox No. 4 prospect Franklin Arias, an infielder for High-A Greenville, REALLY didn’t want to let visiting Asheville score any runs in the top of the eighth inning on Friday night. With runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fourth, Arias showed he apparently held
April's hottest hitting prospects -- one for each organization
The Minor League season is a month old and several of the game's best hitting prospects are off to fast starts. Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony is tearing up Triple-A (just like he did at the end of last year), Padres shortstop Leo De Vries is leading the High-A Midwest
Check out the best -- and wackiest -- Minor League promos happening in May
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Orioles' Honeycutt joins The Show Before the Show
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
MiLB podcast coming LIVE to a Somerset this June
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
New ballparks highlight 2025 MiLB road trip stops
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from the Baseball Traveler newsletter, presented by Circle K, is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
Minor League Baseball partners with TruGreen
FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- TruGreen, the nation's leading lawn care treatment provider, is proud to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Minor League Baseball that includes activations across all 120 clubs, a makeover of the home dugout in each market, sponsorship of select MiLB team grounds crews, and a new initiative called
Podcast explains why the Syracuse Mets are looking for Jim Morrison
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Dash im-prom-tu promo and Mets' Suero joins the podcast
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Minor League Baseball partners with Circle K
Minor League Baseball announced a new national partnership with Circle K, which will see the convenience store giant become the “Official Convenience Store of Minor League Baseball.” During the 2025 season, the Circle K brand will be integrated into the MiLB in-stadium experience through in-game video board assets at most
These 15 moments led to season No. 15 of Minor League road trips
Benjamin Hill travels the nation collecting stories about what makes Minor League Baseball unique. This excerpt from his newsletter is a mere taste of the smorgasbord of delights he offers every week. Read the full newsletter here, and subscribe to his newsletter here.
MiLB podcast crew makes Opening Day predictions
Check out the latest episodes of The Show Before the Show, MiLB.com's official podcast. A segment rundown is listed below, in case you want to skip to a particular section. Like the podcast? Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts. The podcast is also available via Spotify, Megaphone and other
Everything you need to know for Triple-A Opening Day
First, there was big league Opening Day. Now it's Triple-A's turn to take the spotlight. The Minor League season opens Friday when the Triple-A International League and Pacific Coast League seasons get underway for the first of MiLB’s two Opening Days. And right out of the gates, several of baseball's
Top prospects to watch at Triple-A -- one for each organization
It’s Triple-A’s turn up to bat on Friday. The regular season begins for the Minor Leagues’ highest level one day after the action starts on the Major League side. Fun fact: it’ll be the earliest start to a Minor League season since 1951 (March 27). Double-A, High-A and Single-A will
Here's where every Top 100 prospect is expected to start the season
The 2025 Opening Day prospect roster announcements began last week when the Cubs informed Matt Shaw (MLB No. 19) he was making the trip overseas to compete in the Tokyo Series. Roki Sasaki (No. 1) also received the good news, but his assignment was much less of a surprise. Now