Nicolas back with Pirates: 'I feel good about where I'm at'
Kyle Nicolas admits that when he was left off the Pirates' opening day roster following a relatively stellar performance during spring training, there was a sense of shock and frustration.
Nicolas, who allowed a singular earned run over nine innings this spring, thought about it for about a day, but didn't dwell on it for long. Instead, he decided to let it fuel him to work on the things he needed to and better himself for what seemed like another inevitable opportunity in the big leagues.
"Things happen," Nicolas said this afternoon inside the visitors' clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. "There's different opinions and everything, but you kinda gotta just accept it and move on. Just go do my job, and my job is to go dominate hitters wherever I'm at. There was a little frustration for a day and then you just gotta look yourself in the mirror and react how you want to react. What is going to make myself a better player is not going to be being bitter about it, it's gonna be going and being better, and working on ways to be better."
After struggling a bit through four appearances with Class AAA Indianapolis to start the season, Nicolas is back in the big leagues, as he was officially recalled this afternoon. His addition to the active roster serves as the corresponding move for ThomasHarrington being sent down yesterday.
In those aforementioned four minor-league outings, Nicolas focused on accomplishing tasks the coaching staff discussed with him at the end of spring training. He had his sights set on polishing his stuff, throwing pitches in the zone more consistently, getting ahead of hitters and putting them away. As Nicolas put it,"typical pitching stuff." The results weren't ideal, as Nicolas allowed six earned runs on eight hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings, but he still took positives away from the early experience.
"I think there were a couple rough ones in Indy, but I feel like I threw the ball well and I feel good about where I'm at right now," he said. "Was getting prepared to be here and to pitch in big spots here. It was a good experience working with the pitching coaches down there and taking a different type of mentality. I feel like I'm in a good spot."
Derek Shelton said the decision to leave Nicolas off the opening day roster and give him a minor-league assignment to start the season was a difficult one to settle on. Still, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was back in a Pirates uniform.
"Extremely challenging. When it's a guy you like, you like his stuff and he's been with us, those decisions are some of the most challenging ones at the end of spring," Shelton said. "But I think part of the messaging is we aren't going to play with 13 pitchers the entire year. It's April 11 and we've already gone through pitchers. We're going to need guys and we knew he was going to be a guy at the top of the list when we first needed a guy."
Nicolas brings plenty of experience to the table now that he's coming off a 51-game stint with the big-league club in 2024. He threw 54 2/3 innings while producing a 3.95 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 31 walks.
Everyone knows Nicolas has the stuff to be a successful big-league reliever. He can keep hitters off-balance with his off-speed pitches and regularly throws a four-seam fastball that averaged 97.4 mph -- ranked in the 94th percentile, according to Baseball Savant -- last year. Some, including Shelton and HenryDavis, have even acknowledged Nicolas' potential to evolve into a dependable high-leverage reliever.
The issue has always been Nicolas' lack of consistent command. A year ago, he recorded a 13.1% walk rate, which ranked him in the second-percentile. Nicolas made efforts this offseason to fix things by finding ways to be more dialed in on how his body is moving and how he can land all of his pitches for strikes on a more consistent basis.
Now that he has another opportunity to step foot on a major-league mound, Nicolas will look to take full advantage of it and replicate the type of success he was able to have over large stretches last season.
"I'm confident in my abilities and I felt like if I pitched like I could, there's always a possibility to be back up here quick," Nicolas said. "Now it's pitching well and staying here that I'm focused on. Helping the team win."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
José Negron
4:11 pm - 04.11.2025CincinnatiNicolas back with Pirates: 'I feel good about where I'm at'
Kyle Nicolas admits that when he was left off the Pirates' opening day roster following a relatively stellar performance during spring training, there was a sense of shock and frustration.
Nicolas, who allowed a singular earned run over nine innings this spring, thought about it for about a day, but didn't dwell on it for long. Instead, he decided to let it fuel him to work on the things he needed to and better himself for what seemed like another inevitable opportunity in the big leagues.
"Things happen," Nicolas said this afternoon inside the visitors' clubhouse at Great American Ball Park. "There's different opinions and everything, but you kinda gotta just accept it and move on. Just go do my job, and my job is to go dominate hitters wherever I'm at. There was a little frustration for a day and then you just gotta look yourself in the mirror and react how you want to react. What is going to make myself a better player is not going to be being bitter about it, it's gonna be going and being better, and working on ways to be better."
After struggling a bit through four appearances with Class AAA Indianapolis to start the season, Nicolas is back in the big leagues, as he was officially recalled this afternoon. His addition to the active roster serves as the corresponding move for Thomas Harrington being sent down yesterday.
In those aforementioned four minor-league outings, Nicolas focused on accomplishing tasks the coaching staff discussed with him at the end of spring training. He had his sights set on polishing his stuff, throwing pitches in the zone more consistently, getting ahead of hitters and putting them away. As Nicolas put it,"typical pitching stuff." The results weren't ideal, as Nicolas allowed six earned runs on eight hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings, but he still took positives away from the early experience.
"I think there were a couple rough ones in Indy, but I feel like I threw the ball well and I feel good about where I'm at right now," he said. "Was getting prepared to be here and to pitch in big spots here. It was a good experience working with the pitching coaches down there and taking a different type of mentality. I feel like I'm in a good spot."
Derek Shelton said the decision to leave Nicolas off the opening day roster and give him a minor-league assignment to start the season was a difficult one to settle on. Still, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was back in a Pirates uniform.
"Extremely challenging. When it's a guy you like, you like his stuff and he's been with us, those decisions are some of the most challenging ones at the end of spring," Shelton said. "But I think part of the messaging is we aren't going to play with 13 pitchers the entire year. It's April 11 and we've already gone through pitchers. We're going to need guys and we knew he was going to be a guy at the top of the list when we first needed a guy."
Nicolas brings plenty of experience to the table now that he's coming off a 51-game stint with the big-league club in 2024. He threw 54 2/3 innings while producing a 3.95 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 31 walks.
Everyone knows Nicolas has the stuff to be a successful big-league reliever. He can keep hitters off-balance with his off-speed pitches and regularly throws a four-seam fastball that averaged 97.4 mph -- ranked in the 94th percentile, according to Baseball Savant -- last year. Some, including Shelton and Henry Davis, have even acknowledged Nicolas' potential to evolve into a dependable high-leverage reliever.
The issue has always been Nicolas' lack of consistent command. A year ago, he recorded a 13.1% walk rate, which ranked him in the second-percentile. Nicolas made efforts this offseason to fix things by finding ways to be more dialed in on how his body is moving and how he can land all of his pitches for strikes on a more consistent basis.
Now that he has another opportunity to step foot on a major-league mound, Nicolas will look to take full advantage of it and replicate the type of success he was able to have over large stretches last season.
"I'm confident in my abilities and I felt like if I pitched like I could, there's always a possibility to be back up here quick," Nicolas said. "Now it's pitching well and staying here that I'm focused on. Helping the team win."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!