Ryne Tanner Nelson (born February 1, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Ryne Nelson
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 19
Pitcher
Born: (1998-02-01) February 1, 1998 (age 26)
Henderson, Nevada, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 5, 2022, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record19–15
Earned run average4.57
Strikeouts238
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Amateur career

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Nelson attended Basic High School in Henderson. As a junior, he batted .412 with four home runs and 22 RBIs, along with pitching to a 6–1 record with a 2.03 ERA.[1] In 2016, his senior year, he compiled a 1.91 ERA while batting .415, leading Basic to a state championship and earning a spot on the Nevada All-State team.[2][3] Unselected out of high school in the 2016 MLB draft, he enrolled at the University of Oregon to play college baseball for the Oregon Ducks.

In 2017, as a freshman at Oregon, Nelson suffered an injury and pitched only 13+13 innings in which he had a 4.72 ERA.[4] As a sophomore in 2018, he returned healthy and appeared in 16 games out of the bullpen, going 3–1 with a 3.86 ERA.[5][6] He spent that summer playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox with whom he was named an All-Star.[7][8] For the 2019 season, he was moved into the starting rotation, but returned to the bullpen after suffering a heel injury.[9][10] He finished the year with a 3–4 record and a 4.29 ERA in 23 appearances (four starts), earning him a spot on the All-Pac-12 Team.[11][12]

Professional career

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Nelson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 MLB draft.[13] He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round, with the 56th overall pick, and signed for $1.1 million.[14][15] He was assigned to the Hillsboro Hops of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, going 0–1 with a 2.89 ERA over 18+23 innings, striking out 26.[16] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

To begin the 2021 season, Nelson returned to Hillsboro, now members of the High-A West league.[18] After eight starts in which he pitched to a 4–1 record with a 2.52 ERA and 59 strikeouts over 39+13 innings, he was promoted to the Amarillo Sod Poodles of the Double-A Central.[19] Over 14 starts with Amarillo, Nelson went 3–3 with a 3.51 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 77 innings.[20] The Diamondbacks named Nelson their Minor League Pitcher of the Year.[21]

Nelson was promoted to the Triple-A Reno Aces to begin the 2022 season.[22] In 26 games, Nelson went 10–5 with a 5.43 ERA and 128 strikeouts over 136 innings. On September 5, 2022, the Diamondbacks selected Nelson's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[23] He made his MLB debut that night as the club's starting pitcher versus the San Diego Padres, throwing seven scoreless innings while striking out seven batters and walking zero in a 5-0 Diamondbacks win.[24]

Nelson began the 2023 season on the opening-day roster for the Diamondbacks.[25] On August 13, 2023, Ryne Nelson was optioned back to the Reno Aces to make room for Bryce Jarvis's debut and improve his pitching, with a 5.47 ERA in 24 starts before demotion.[26] After pitching a 0–1 record with a 3.74 ERA and 9 strikeouts over 21+23 innings, he was promoted back to the Diamondbacks rotation on September 6, 2023.[27] Nelson ended the season pitching an 8–8 record with 5.31 ERA and 96 strikeouts over 144 innings pitched.

References

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  1. ^ "Cimarron-Memorial's Decolati named Southern Nevada player of year". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 20, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "Three years after graduating from local high schools, Las Vegans poised to go high in MLB Draft". Las Vegas Sun. May 30, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "Here's 2016's All-State baseball team". Las Vegas Review-Journal. June 16, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  4. ^ "Ryne Nelson adjusting to starting rotation". The 3rd Man In. March 7, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  5. ^ "No. 3 Tech to host Oregon for a 4-game series to open season". dailytoreader.com. February 14, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  6. ^ "2019 Pac-12 Conference College Baseball Preview". Baseball America. January 31, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  7. ^ "Stars didn't come out, but Cape League All Stars did". The Register. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "#19 Ryne Nelson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Amid much hype, Ryne Nelson gets his shot in the starting rotation for Oregon Ducks baseball". The Register-Guard. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Pitching has been a season-long problem for Oregon Ducks baseball". The Register-Guard. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  11. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, James Crepea | The (June 4, 2019). "Oregon pitcher Ryne Nelson drafted by Arizona Diamondbacks in second round of MLB Draft". oregonlive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Oregon's Spencer Steer, Ryne Nelson earn All-Pac-12 baseball honors". The Oregonian. May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball.
  14. ^ Emerson, Justin (June 3, 2019). "Three with ties to Las Vegas picked early in MLB Draft - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". lasvegassun.com.
  15. ^ "MLB Draft Tracker". MLB.com.
  16. ^ "Former Duck Ryne Nelson among three top 2019 draftees to join Hops". MiLB.com.
  17. ^ West, Jenna. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled". Sports Illustrated.
  18. ^ Miller, Mark. "Hillsboro Hops unveil 2021 roster, with returnees from past years". pamplinmedia.com.
  19. ^ Moran, Shawn. "Sod Poodles Baseball: Looking ahead to Wichita series". Amarillo Globe-News.
  20. ^ "ESPN highlights D-backs' MiLB standouts as the season closes". Arizona Sports. September 21, 2021.
  21. ^ "D-backs name Alek Thomas & Ryne Nelson Organization Player and Pitcher of the Year". MLB.com.
  22. ^ @Aces (April 6, 2022). "Introducing your 2022 Reno Aces" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "How Diamondbacks prospect Ryne Nelson turned his season around to earn major league debut".
  24. ^ "Calm, confident Ryne Nelson dazzles in winning debut for Diamondbacks".
  25. ^ Gilbert, Steve (March 28, 2022). "D-backs announce final roster heading into opener". mlb.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  26. ^ "Initiating the Jarvis Protocol. Welcome to the Show, @BryceJarvis28!". X (formerly Twitter). August 13, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  27. ^ McDermott, Michael (September 6, 2023). "Ryne Nelson to Return to the Rotation Against Cubs". si.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
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