Cincinnati Reds Prospect Dominates In Triple-A Debut

The Louisville Bats took on the Toledo Mud Hens Saturday afternoon. Pitching prospect Nick Sando made his Triple-A debut and was dominant.

Sando Domination

The 24-year-old started the game going 1-2-3 with two strikeouts, including a strikeout of the eighth overall prospect, Max Clark. He walked two in the second, but escaped on a double play and a flyout. In the third, he allowed a hit, but had two more strikeouts and a flyout. He went 1-2-3 again in the sixth, and that was all for Sando. 

His final line for his debut was six innings pitched, two hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. He also gets credited with his first win at the Triple-A level. Louisville won 4-2.

Box Score Recap

The Bats' offense was rather quiet through the first four innings, with just two hits until the bottom of the fifth. After a Will Banfield walk, Dominic Pitelli and Blake Dunn recorded back-to-back singles to get on the board, taking a 1-0 lead. Pitelli also made his Triple-A debut on Saturday, playing shortstop.  Later in the inning, Edwin Arroyo hit a sacrifice fly, and Hector Rodriguez reached on an error to put two more runs on the board. 

In the seventh, Noelvi Marte hit a triple to the opposite field in right and was followed by a single from JJ Bleday to extend the lead. Michael Toglia followed Bleday with a double, but they were left stranded. 

Following Sando's outing, TJ Antone pitched in relief, allowing a run in one inning. He allowed a hit and a walk and struck out two. Anthony Misiewicz tossed a scoreless inning following Antone with a strikeout. Trevor Kuncl struggled with command; he walked five, but did not allow a hit and allowed a run. He's allowed just two runs in 8 2/3 innings this season; he had just three walks prior to this outing.  Yunior Marte got the final out to earn his second save of the season.

Dominc Pitelli went 2-4 with a run scored in his debut. JJ Bleday went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. Noelvi Marte went 1-3 with a triple, a walk, and a run scored. Hector Rodriguez was 1-5, and Edwin Arroyo was 1-4 with an RBI.

Who is Nick Sando?

The Reds signed Nick Sando as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and pitched in the Arizona Complex League and in Single-A in 2024. He pitched in three levels in the Reds farm system in 2025, pitching his way up from Single-A Daytona through Double-A Chattanooga. He was 7-3 in 30 games, with 11 starts. He had a 3.33 ERA in 92 innings with 107 strikeouts and 42 walks. Batters had just a .186 average against him combined in all levels. 

This season, he was 1-1 with a 1.00 ERA in nine innings in Chattanooga with three walks and 15 strikeouts. He gets the promotion likely due to Chase Petty and Julian Aguiar each being placed on the injured list, but he has been pitching well enough to earn his spot and is climbing rapidly through the Reds' system.

On Deck

Sunday is the series finale; Louisville looks to earn the series win in this six-game series versus the Mud Hens. Louisville has yet to name a starter; Julian Aguiar and Chase Petty are each on the injured list. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 P.M.