Nick, who grew up less than 50 miles from Chicago, has posted a career average of .269 (66-for-245) with 13 doubles, four triples, two home runs, and 26 RBI in 87 major league games … he signed with the Cubs as a minor league free agent on Jan. 2, 2021...He has appeared at all three outfield positions, including 73 games in left, two in center, and one in right … he also has one pitching appearance, coming on in relief for Oakland on July 22, 2019, at Houston...He has shown great success in pressure situations, recording a career average of .313 (5-for-15) with runners in scoring position … with RISP and two outs, his average is raised to .333 (2-for-6), and with the bases loaded he is 1-for-2 … with two outs, he is a career .304 hitter (7-for-23), and in one run games he has hit .333 (8-for-24)…He was named a 2015 Texas League mid-season All-Star, and earned MiLB.com Organizational All-Star honors for St. Louis in 2017...Attended Kansas State University where he was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Second Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2010 … He set an NCAA record for reaching base safely in 93 consecutive games from April 2009-2011 … led Big 12 with a .416 average and set a school record with a 26-game hitting streak in his sophomore season in 2010 … named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and Honorable Mention All-Big 12 in 2009...Graduated from Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, Illinois … he was a three-time All-Conference, All-Area, and All-State selection and was rated by Prep Baseball Report as the top hitter in Illinois.
2020
Nick trained with Philadelphia at their Alternate Training Site, but did not appear at the major league level, after being claimed by the Phillies off waivers from Cincinnati on Jan. 14.
2019
Opened the season on the IL with a sprained right knee, 3/17-5/27; included a rehab assignment to Las Vegas (AAA), 5/8-27...Activated on 5/28 and shuttled between Las Vegas and OAK before being designated for assignment on 8/26...Claimed off waivers by SD on 8/28...Posted a .344 OBP in 26 games (21 GS) for SD after being claimed.
2018
Batted .296 with a home run and 19 RBI in 55 games over four stints with the A's in his Major League debut…added 21 walks and was hit by a pitch five times for a .397 on-base percentage… had three triples, which tied for third among American League rookies…did not ground into a double play in 152 at bats, which are the fifth most at bats in Oakland history among players without a GIDP…made 36 of his 37 starts in games in which the opponent started a right-handed pitcher…hit .306 (44-for-144) with all 13 of his extra base hits, 18 of his 19 RBI and 20 of his 21 walks against righties…went 1-for-8 (.125) with a walk and two hit by pitches against lefties… batted .321 during the day, .308 with runners in scoring position and .302 on the road…hit .391 against AL East teams and .341 against the AL West…started 35 games in left field and two in center field…committed two errors in 50 games overall in the outfield and played all three positions…went 4-for-13 (.308) with a double, walk and two RBI as a pinch hitter…made 32 of his 37 starts batting leadoff.
OAKLAND: Was selected from Triple-A Nashville June 6 and made his Major League debut that day at Texas…grounded out as a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth, remained in the game in right field and went 0-for-2…was 0-for-9 in three games when he was optioned back to Nashville June 9…returned for his second stint on June 23 and collected his first ML hit that day at Chicago (AL)… had a pinch-hit game-winning RBI single in the eighth inning off Juan Minaya…played the next day against the White Sox, did not bat, and was optioned back to Nashville June 25…returned for his third stint July 7 and batted .394 with a .524 on-base percentage and .606 slugging percentage in 15 games in July…made his first start of the season in the leadoff spot July 12 at Houston and went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI July 12 at Houston…the doubles were the first extra base hits of his career and it was also his first multiple hit game and first multiple RBI game…made each of his 21 starts from July 12 to Aug. 28 batting leadoff…collected his first triple July 26 at Texas…had a career-best four-game hitting streak from Aug. 12 to 19 (7-for-16, .438)… was batting .207 in 19 games in August and .275 with a .385 on-base percentage in 34 games overall during his third stint before he was optioned to Nashville Aug. 30…returned to Oakland Sept. 9 and hit .373 with a .467 on-base percentage and .510 slugging percentage in 16 games in September…reached base safely via hit or walk in each of his final 12 games beginning Sept. 15, which was the longest reaching base streak of his career…went 13-for-42 (.310) with six walks (.396 on-base percentage) over that stretch…hit his first Major League home run Sept. 20 in the seventh inning Thursday off the Angels Francisco Arcia…it snapped a career-opening 43-game, 128-at bat homerless streak…matched his career-high with a four-game hitting streak from Sept. 22 to 26 (7-for-16, .438)…started in left field and batted leadoff in the Wild Card game at New York Oct. 3 and went 1-for-4.
NASHVILLE: Batted a career-high .297 with six home runs and 40 RBI in 76 games with Nashville… walked 51 times to fuel a career-high .406 on-base percentage…led the A's farm system in onbase percentage and tied for seventh in walks…hit .316 (59-for-187) with five of his six home runs against right-handed pitchers, .258 (23-for-89) against left-handers…also drew 46 of his 51 walks against righties and had a .914 OPS against right-handed pitchers compared to .624 against south paws…had a .355 batting average with runners in scoring position…hit .344 with five of his six home runs in 42 games on the road (.938 OPS), .230 with a .668 OPS in 34 games at home…appeared in 41 games at first base, 22 in left field, 11 in right field and two in center field…did not commit an errors in 34 games overall in the outfield (63 total chances), but made four as a first baseman (.989)…batted .323 with five of his six home runs as a first baseman…hit in every spot in the order except ninth…batted .346 with a .424 on-base percentage in 45 games batting leadoff…went 3-for-27 (.111) with six walks over his first eight games…then reached base safely in 66 consecutive games from April 14 to Sept. 1, which was the longest reaching base streak in the Pacific Coast League…hit .326 with a .421 on-base percentage during the streak… was a perfect 4-for-4 April 28 against New Orleans…tied for the third in the PCL in walks in April (19)…had five straight multiple hit games from May 10-14 (10-for-21, .476)…went 3-for-4 with a season-high two home runs and a season-high four RBI May 18 at Oklahoma City…the began a season-ending streak where he hit safely in each of his final 24 road games, which was the longest road hitting streak in the PCL (41-for-103, .398)…had a 21-game hitting streak from May 22 to June 19 (34-for-90, .378), which was the fourth longest hitting streak in the PCL…was batting .299 with a .417 on-base percentage in 51 games when the A's called for the first time on June 6…returned to the Sounds June 10 and went 15-for-46 (.327) in 11 games before Oakland called again on June 25…returned to Nashville June 26 and went 14-for-43 (.326) in 11 games before he was recalled by Oakland July 7…hit .369 with a .430 on-base percentage and 15 RBI in 20 games in June…the batting average ranked fifth in the PCL and the on-base percentage was seventh…returned to Nashville Sept. 1 for the final three games of the season and went 0-for-10 in three games…went 0-for-4 Sept. 2 against Memphis to snap his reaching base streak at 66.
2017
Completed his seventh and final season in the Cardinals organization and batted a combined .294 with eight home runs and 70 RBI in 121 games with Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis…had career highs in batting, slugging (.423), hits (135), home runs, RBI, walks (66) and strikeouts (93) and matched his best in triples (5) and extra base hits (38)…ranked third in the St. Louis farm system in RBI and eighth in batting…was successful in 6-of-7 (85.7%) stolen base attempts…hit .345 (29-for-84) against left-handed pitching compared to .283 (106-for-375) with seven of his eight home runs against right-handers…slugged five home runs in 30 day games, three in 91 contest at night…batted .290 with a .398 on-base percentage when leading of an inning…hit .323 with runners on base, .323 with runners in scoring position and two outs, .322 on the road and .316 in the ninth inning…appeared in 69 games in left field, 27 in right field, eight at first base and four in center field…committed just one error in 99 games overall in the outfield for a .994 fielding percentage…also batted .325 in 10 games as the designated hitter and was 1-for-3 (.333) with two walks as a pinch hitter…hit in every spot in the order but primarily batted second (44 games), first (33) and third (30).
MINORS: Began the season at Springfield and hit .263 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 23 games…batted .302 with both of his home runs over his first 11 games through April 20…then hit .232 over his final 12 contests…was promoted to Memphis May 5 and spent the rest of the season with the Redbirds, batting .303 with six home runs and 55 RBI in 98 games…added 55 walks for a .394 on-base percentage…hit safely in his first four games after collecting a hit in each of his final two games with Springfield for a season-best six-game hitting streak from May 3 to 9 (10- for-27, .370)…went 4-for-6 with two doubles and scored a season-high four runs May 7 at Iowa… batted .448 over his first eight games at Triple-A before going 24-for-101 (.238) over a 28-game stretch from May 15 to June 19 to fall to .283…then matched his season-high with four hits June 20 at Round Rock to get his Memphis average back over .300 (.304)…it would not drop below .300 the remainder of the season…hit .455 (25-for-55) over a 14-game stretch from June 20 to July 6…finished June with a .313 batting average in 22 games…then batted .344 with a .447 on-base percentage in 26 games in July…collected his third four-hit game of the season July 6 at Round Rock…drove in a season-high four runs July 21 against Las Vegas…had his Triple-A average at .322 as late as Aug. 11 but then went 13-for-62 (.210) over his final 18 games…matched his season high with four RBI Sept. 3 at Colorado Springs…hit .282 (11-for-39) with six runs, two doubles, five RBI and four walks in 10 postseason games for the Pacific Coast League Champion Redbirds.
2016
Had three stints with Triple-A Memphis and two with Double-A Springfield and combined to hit .259 with five home runs and 39 RBI in 126 games…added 55 walks and five hit by pitches for a .354 on-base percentage…was successful in 10-of-11 (90.9%) stolen base attempts… ranked fourth in the Cardinals farm system in walks…hit .280 against right-handed pitching, .215 against left-handers…four of his five home runs came with runners on base…batted .182 with runners in scoring position and two outs…was 1-for-7 (.143) with a grand slam and nine RBI with the bases loaded…with Memphis, he batted .325 on the road and .228 at home…reversed that trend with Springfield where he hit .314 at home and .160 on the road…appeared in 46 games in right field, 40 in center field and 25 in left field…committed three errors in 104 games overall in the outfield for a .987 fielding percentage…also went 1-for-14 (.071) in four games as the designated hitter and was 2-for-15 (.133) with two walks as a pinch hitter…hit in every spot in the order, including 38 games batting fifth and 31 in the leadoff spot…began the season at Memphis where he hit .273 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 86 games…hit .318 in 18 games in April… collected a season-high four hits May 28 at Las Vegas…was hitting .309 over his first 44 games through May 29 but then went 4-for-32 (.125) over his next 15 contests before being sent down to Springfield June 16…hit .234 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 40 games over his two stints with at Double-A…including .171 in 11 games before he was sent back to Memphis July 4…went 5-for-25 (.200) in seven games before returning to Springfield July 12…hit .255 in 29 games during his second stint…had a season-best seven-game hitting streak from July 24 to 31 (10-for-28, .357)…hit three of his five home runs and collected 10 RBI over an eight-game stretch from July 25 to Aug. 2…hit his third career grand slam Aug. 2 against Tulsa and drove in a season-high four runs…was sent back to Memphis for the final time Aug. 16 and hit .302 over his final 20 games.
2015
Batted .265 with five home runs and 32 RBI in 95 games with Double-A Springfield and also hit .393 with a home run and 14 RBI in 22 games during a one-month stint with Triple-A Memphis…combined for a .284 batting average in 117 games overall…ranked fourth among Cardinals minor leaguers in walks (60), fifth in on-base percentage (.392) and tied for ninth in triples (4)…was named to the Texas League Midseason All-Star team…hit .292 with three home runs in 89 at bats against left-handed pitchers, .282 with three home runs in 280 at bats against righthanders…batted .342 on the road…had a .306 batting average at night, .164 during the day… appeared in 63 games in left field, 29 in right field and 11 in center field…also pitched once…hit in every spot in the order except cleanup and saw his most action with 25 games batting third and 20 hitting second…had a season-best seven-game hitting streak from April 26 to May 7 (13- for-24, .542) to boost his average from .200 to .339…had another seven-game hitting streak from May 11 to 20 (13-for-31, .419)…finished the second streak with three straight three-hit games to give him a .337 batting average after 30 games…hit .322 in 24 games in May…made his second professional appearance as a pitcher June 12 at Arkansas in a 15-12 loss (1.1 ip, 2 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 0 so)…also went 3-for-5 in that game with a triple, home run and a season-high five RBI…was 1-for-3 with two runs, a double, a walk and a stolen base in a start at designated hitter for the North Squad in the Texas League All-Star Game June 30 at Corpus Christi…was batting .288 in 66 games when he was moved up to Memphis July 4…hit .412 with 13 RBI over his first 14 games with the Redbirds…was sent back to Springfield Aug. 5 and batted .213 over his final 29 games.
2014
Spent most of the season with Single-A Palm Beach where he hit .256 with seven home runs and 59 RBI in 115 games…also appeared in six games with Double-A Springfield and went 6-for-16 (.375) with a RBI…combined for a .260 batting average in 121 games overall…had career highs in doubles (26) and triples (5)…ranked third in the Cardinals farm system in doubles, tied for fifth in RBI (60), seventh in hits (118), tied for seventh in walks (45), tied for eighth in triples and tied for ninth in runs (61)…led Palm Beach in doubles (25), runs (59), RBI (59), walks (44) and total bases (168)…batted .275 with five of his seven home runs against right-handed pitchers, .211 against left-handers…appeared in 62 games in center field, 58 in right field and one in left field…had 15 assists in 119 games overall in the outfield…tied for the lead among Florida State League outfielders in double plays (5) and ranked second in assists (15)…hit in every spot in the order except fourth and saw his most action with 43 games in the leadoff spot…began the season at Palm Beach and was batting .245 in 47 games when he was transferred to Springfield May 31…went 2-for-11 (.182) in five games before returning to Palm Beach June 10…batted .319 with nine doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI in 26 games in July…hit two grand slams over a period of seven days, both coming in the 8th inning…the first was July 28 against Lakeland as part of a two homer game and the second was Aug. 4 at Dunedin…went 3-for-5 with three doubles Aug. 21 at Jupiter…was sent back to Springfield Sept. 1 and went 4-for-5 that day at Tulsa in his only game before the season ended.
2013
Batted .252 with two home runs and 36 RBI in 106 games with Single-A Peoria…had 40 walks and 40 strikeouts…hit .267 against right-handed pitching, .205 against left-handers…had a .201 batting average in the first half, .294 with both of his home runs in the second half…batted .306 during the day…appeared in 78 games in right field and 28 in center field…also pitched once…hit in every spot in the order except third and fourth…had 40 games hitting seventh… stole two bases April 16 against Burlington…was on the disabled list from April 17 to 24 with a sprained left ankle…made his professional debut as a pitcher May 13 at Quad Cities (1.0 ip, 1 h)… pitched the eighth inning of the Chiefs 8-0 loss…had a season-best 10-game hitting streak from June 12 to 25 (16-for-41, .390)…hit .326 in 23 games in June…walked 16 times in 23 games in July for a .400 on-base percentage…had his lone four-hit game of the season Aug. 28 against Clinton when he went 4-for-6 with a double and RBI…hit .429 with six RBI over his final six games.
2012
Spent his first full season at Single-A Quad Cities and hit .266 with two home runs and 52 RBI in 130 games…had more walks (64) than strikeouts (60) and his average of 9.38 plate appearances per strikeout was fourth best in the Midwest League…was also hit by a pitch 10 times for a .361 on-base percentage…had career highs in runs (82), stolen bases (11), hit by pitches, games and at bats (482)…hit .266 against right-handed pitchers, .265 against lefties…appeared in 94 games in center field, 29 in right field and two in left field…hit his first professional home run in his 107th career game May 30 against Beloit…collected two triples Aug. 24 against Kane County…batted .350 in 26 games in August.
2011
Made his professional debut with Batavia of the Short Season Single-A New York-Penn League and hit .167 with 19 RBI in 57 games…added 28 walks for a .291 on-base percentage…was a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases…did not commit an error in 56 games and 99 total chances in the outfield (56 in center field, one in right field)…went 1-for-4 in his debut June 17 against Auburn… had his first RBI June 20 against Mahoning Valley.
