How Pirates rookie reliever Kyle Nicolas recovered from worst outing with 'closer stuff'

Not long after Kyle Nicolas lost his command against the Chicago Cubs and nearly spoiled Paul Skenes’ major-league debut, Yasmani Grandal found the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie reliever during a rain delay.

After striking out the first two batters he faced, Nicolas hit one with a pitch then issued three consecutive four-pitch walks with the bases loaded as the Cubs rallied from a five-run deficit to tie the score in the fifth inning May 11 at PNC Park.

“He was in the weight room, and I went up to him and told him, ‘Just understand, you’re going to be in that situation again. Next time, that’s not going to happen,’ ” Grandal said of Nicolas. “You’ve got to expect a bad outing from the younger guys. It’s going to happen. I don’t care how good you are. You’re bound to have a bad outing.”

How Nicolas responded to one of his worst outings has the Pirates raving as much about his mental fortitude as they do his “closer stuff,” especially after a pair of eye-opening performances.

Kyle Nicolas strikes out Shohei Ohtani with a 93.7 MPH slider pic.twitter.com/j1iNPq53HT

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 7, 2024

Kyle Nicolas, K'ing the Side. pic.twitter.com/Ghjs0q6E1W

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 13, 2024

The 25-year-old right-hander retired three MVPs in order against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6, getting Mookie Betts to pop out to first in foul territory before recording back-to-back strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. On June 12, Nicolas struck out five consecutive St. Louis Cardinals, including 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado.

“That was kind of like a step, like a hurdle, ‘OK, I belong here. I can use my stuff.’ He’s got really good stuff. We just had to get him in the zone,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the Dodgers game. “There’s not too many guys that are rushing 99 with a 92 mph slider and an 86-mph curveball up there. It’s just a matter of we have to make sure it’s executed in the zone. Some of that is learned. Some of it is handling the big leagues, handling the pressure of the big leagues. Some of it is the confidence of knowing I can get the best hitters in the world out.”

That’s been the area of greatest growth for Nicolas, who has learned his stuff plays against baseball’s best hitters if he believes in himself and trusts enough to throw it in the strike zone.

“It just builds confidence. It adds on to the confidence I already have,” Nicolas said. “You go out and do it against the heart of the order against a pretty good team, some good hitters, it’s another step of (knowing) ‘I belong here and can be dominant.’ I’ve known that I can be. It’s just a matter of time of me putting things together.”

Where Nicolas’ 11.52 strikeouts per nine innings ranks third among active Pirates pitchers this season, behind only Aroldis Chapman and Skenes, he’s also allowed 4.7 walks per nine this season. His first-pitch strike percentage has dropped from 69.2% to 53.2%, per Statcast, so Nicolas is attempting to be more aggressive in the strike zone.

“Exactly. I can get outs in the zone as well as outside the zone. But they’re not going to be swinging at stuff outside the zone if I can’t establish myself in the zone,” Nicolas said. “Just being able to control counts has been the biggest thing. Getting ahead of guys and staying in the zone relentlessly.”

With an elite four-seam fastball that averages 97.9 mph and touches 99, Nicolas ranks among baseball’s 92nd percentile or better in several Statcast categories: expected batting average (.187), average exit velocity (86.4 mph), whiff percentage (32.4%), strikeout rate (29.4%) and hard-hit rate (29.5%).

That caused catcher Henry Davis, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, to say the converted starter has a three-pitch repertoire — four-seamer, slider and curveball — that is closer-caliber stuff.

“I think Henry’s right,” Grandal said. “He’s got a killer mentality when he’s on the mound. He’s got the mindset of what you’re looking for in a closer. It’s something everybody has talked about here with Kyle: That presence he gets on the mound, that F-you attitude every pitch that he’s throwing. If I get hit, it’s OK. If I give up a walk, it’s OK. I’m still going to try to come out and punch you out — and he’s got the stuff to do it. It’s been fun to watch.”

Kyle Nicolas this afternoon:

2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO
31 pitches, 20 strikes, 6 whiffs

Picked up strikeouts with his curveball, fastball, and slider pic.twitter.com/tgI6fVao3x

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 30, 2024

That means the world to Nicolas, especially coming from his catchers. In 17 outings since the Cubs debacle, he has 25 strikeouts against eight walks and a .237 batting average against in 20 1/3 innings. In the nine games since playing the Dodgers on June 12, Nicolas has a .277 ERA with 17 strikeouts against six walks.

Nicolas knows he’s behind two-time All-Star David Bednar and seven-time All-Star Aroldis Chapman — and perhaps Colin Holderman and Carmen Mlodzinski — in the pecking order for the Pirates’ closer role. That doesn’t stop Nicolas from treating every appearance like it’s a high-leverage opportunity and showcase for the future.

Over his last seven outings, Nicolas has a 1.74 ERA with 14 strikeouts against two walks. Nicolas pitched a clean ninth inning of a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay on June 23 and threw two scoreless innings in a 6-1 win at Cincinnati last Wednesday before giving up the winning single to Adam Duvall in the 10th inning of a 2-1 loss at Atlanta on Saturday. Nicolas bounced back with three strikeouts in two scoreless innings in Sunday’s 4-2 win over the Braves, working out of a first-and-third jam in the seventh.

“That’s how I see myself every time I go out on the mound, no matter what the situation is,” Nicolas said. “I’m putting myself in that late-inning role in my head, just so I’m ready for it if it ever happens. I try to simulate that experience. I know I have the stuff for it. We also have some really lock-down guys here. Just doing my role to help the team but also pitching like I know I can be a late-inning guy — whether in the sixth or seventh, losing or winning, it doesn’t really matter to me.”