Catching Up With Former Arizona Wildcat in Rays Organization

It was a rollercoaster ride for TJ Nichols during his three-year collegiate career at Arizona from 2021-23, but his upside as a pitcher was clear from the start to MLB scouts. 

College Career

As a true freshman, Nichols made 17 appearances with nine starts to the tune of a 4.77 ERA. He began the year as a starter where he posted a 6.81 ERA with a 3-3 record on the mound. Nichols made the transition to the bullpen in May where he held his opponent scoreless in five of his eight relief appearances.

In the postseason that year, Nichols posted a strong 1.86 ERA across three appearances in relief. That included one run over 5 1/3 innings in long relief against Ole Miss and two scoreless innings against Vanderbilt in the College World Series.

Nichols stepped up as a sophomore as the Wildcats Friday night starter. He posted a 5.50 ERA across 16 starts which was tied for the team-high on the season.

He also led the team with 84 strikeouts that year. He started the season strong with three straight starts allowing one earned run or less. He went on to make two starts in the postseason which resulted in a no-decision against Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament and a win over Canisius in Coral Gables Regional. 

The right-hander turned in arguably his best overall start to open his junior campaign when he threw six innings of one-run ball against No. 2 Tennessee in the season opener. Despite finishing the season with an 8.27 ERA, he still drew enough attention from MLB scouts that led to him being drafted in the sixth-round by the Tampa Bay Rays that summer. 

Professional Baseball Career

After throwing five scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League that year, Nichols opened his first full season in Single-A where he posted a stellar 2.90 ERA across 18 appearances (14 starts) over 71 1/3 innings with 66 strikeouts. He closed the year even stronger, posting a 1.45 ERA across his final 31 innings with 30 strikeouts. 

The former Wildcat opened this season with High-A Bowling Green in the Rays organization where he has posted another strong campaign to the tune of a 3.44 ERA across 18 appearances (17 starts) over 91 2/3 innings with 111 strikeouts. He has recorded nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings thrown. He has been even better as of late, posting a 1.61 ERA across four starts in July.