PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- It’s not anything like starting Opening Day, but Rays prospect T.J. Nichols was grateful and appreciative when he learned he would take the mound to start this year’s Spring Training opener for Tampa Bay.
His parents were even more thrilled.
In his first Major League Spring Training camp, the 23-year-old Nichols will handle the first inning as the Rays host the Braves on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Sports Park. And his parents, Mike and Deborah, are flying in from Sacramento to sit in the stands and watch.
It might just be one inning -- three batters, if everything goes according to plan. It might only be a Grapefruit League game. But they weren’t going to miss seeing Nichols in a big league uniform, even if it required a cross-country flight.
“Just seeing me pitch an inning, and then they're leaving the next day,” Nichols said Friday, smiling. “They might hit the beaches in Sarasota, but they wanted to see me go against these guys.”
As soon as Nichols told his parents about the start, he said, they made their travel plans. Mike recently retired after 28 years as a police officer, and Deborah will soon retire from her nursing career. And they plan to see a lot more of their son on the mound.
Soon enough, maybe they’ll see Nichols in a real big league game. That will be the case if Tampa Bay's No. 25 prospect continues the ascent he’s been on in the Rays’ Minor League system.
A sixth-round pick out of Arizona in the 2023 MLB Draft, Nichols entered professional baseball with impressive stuff but little collegiate success to write home about after recording a 6.06 ERA in three seasons with the Wildcats. But something clicked as soon as he joined the Rays, he said, and he hasn’t looked back since.
“They just fed me with confidence,” Nichols said. “They told me I was really good, even when I didn't believe it.”
Last season, he made everyone believe it. The right-hander went 14-3 with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, 156 strikeouts and 33 walks in 133 2/3 innings over 25 outings. He earned a late-season promotion from High-A Bowling Green to Double-A Montgomery, where he was part of the Biscuits’ postseason rotation with fellow prospects Ty Johnson (Tampa Bay's No. 24 prospect) and Brody Hopkins (Rays No. 3; No. 85 in baseball).
Those three are in big league camp together this spring, soaking in the environment and asking their more experienced peers plenty of questions while also enjoying the opportunity to show their stuff before returning to the Minors.
“I'm grateful for this opportunity. There's no pressure at all,” Nichols said. “I'll probably end up going to Double-A, and I'll be grateful to go there, but just getting eyes on me and having the higher-ups see me, it's gonna be good. It’s gonna be a good opportunity.”
How to watch
Saturday’s game will be the first broadcast for Rays.TV, the club’s new MLB-produced telecast. Dewayne Staats and Brian Anderson will be on the call, with Ryan Bass reporting. All five Tampa Bay Spring Training broadcasts will be available for free, with an account, on the MLB App and MLB.TV.
Camp notes
- Rays manager Kevin Cash said there was “no update” on the status of high-leverage reliever Edwin Uceta, who was held out of the World Baseball Classic and temporarily shut down due to a “cranky” right shoulder. Uceta attempted to play catch on Thursday but felt worse as he increased the distances of his throws. Uceta had an MRI on Thursday and was sent to see Dr. Koco Eaton, the orthopedic team physician, on Friday. When Uceta withdrew from the WBC, the Rays said they were not concerned about his availability for Opening Day.
- Outfielder Chandler Simpson is dealing with a tight left hamstring and will be held out of game action in the early going. Simpson has been practicing and working out on the field, but Cash said the Rays are “just going to probably protect him from himself a little bit” by not putting him in the lineup.
- Last year, situational hitting was a focal point for the Rays' lineup throughout Spring Training, as they implemented new drills and advised hitters to approach certain scenarios as if there were runners on base. The coaching staff preached a similar message in a meeting on Friday morning, Cash said, although they’ll be mindful of which players are competing for a spot on the Opening Day roster. “We really want to continue to put a focus on getting guys in from third base,” Cash said. “I think we can all agree that some of our best offensive stretches [last season] came when we were kind of creating havoc, whether it was bunting, whether it was on the bases and certainly being successful in those less-than-two-out situations when the guys get on third.”