Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Before last summer, Nichols was a relatively unknown two-way player from the Northern California high school ranks. Then he took the mound at the Area Code Games in August and opened a ton of eyes as an intriguing, albeit raw, right-hander with arm strength who was high on follow lists at the start of the spring. He was a little inconsistent out of the gate before the season ended.

Athletic and wiry, Nichols has pitched and played the infield for his high school team and has the chance to continue to do both should he go on to college. He’s more of a thrower than a pitcher right now, but he’s shown the ability to get his fastball up to 96 mph and added strength should help him find velocity more consistently. He couples the fastball with a very effective short slider with good action to it, a breaking ball that could be a plus pitch in time. He’s struggled to find feel for a changeup, so it’s not been much of a factor for him.

Because of that lack of a third pitch, as well as some command and delivery issues, there is some reliever risk with Nichols. But there’s also a ton of upside thanks to his athleticism and projectable frame. Originally committed to Sacramento State, he switched to Arizona, where he could play on the left side of the infield and pitch for the Wildcats if the Draft doesn’t work out.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 40 | Overall: 40

Nichols jumped on scouts’ radars the summer before his senior year of high school when the two-way standout starred on the mound at the Area Code Games. Undrafted, he headed to Tucson to play at Arizona and after starting his freshman year in the rotation, moved to the bullpen and finished the year strongly. In 2022, he served as the Wildcats’ Friday night starter and continued to show off considerable arm strength, albeit with uneven results. That continued in 2023, when he lost his rotation spot, initially found some footing pitching in relief, but really struggled down the stretch.

In many ways, Nichols is still similar to who he was in high school as a long, lean and projectable right-hander with plenty of room to keep filling out his 6-foot-5 frame. He still touches 98 mph with his fastball and averaged around 95 mph, but it’s straight and doesn’t miss bats, often getting squared up by hitters. His secondary stuff is still a work in progress, with a mid-80s slider that can be effective and a changeup around the same velocity that does have decent sink and fade at times.

Nichols was more around the strike zone in 2022 than he was as a freshman, but it regressed this year and he’s always been control over command, delivering all three of his offerings from a slightly lower slot. He looks like a reliever-only for sure and while his size, projection and velocity will still garner interest, the shine has faded a bit from this right-hander compared to the start of the spring.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

Nichols’ stock bounced all over the place over three years at the University of Arizona. He split time between the rotation and bullpen as a freshman in 2021, became the Wildcats’ Friday starter in '22 and truly struggled in his Draft year (8.27 ERA, 1.60 WHIP in 57 2/3 innings), leading to a move back to relief. He went to the Rays in the sixth round in 2023 and signed for roughly slot at $304,800. Nichols steadied the ship as a starter for Single-A Charleston last year (2.90 ERA, 66 SO in 71 1/3 IP) and has been a breakout arm for High-A Bowling Green in his age-23 season.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander brings plenty of velocity with a 95-97 mph fastball that can touch 99. The offering doesn’t come with standout movement, however, and it can be pounded by batters able to catch up to the heat, making it play down. A mid-80s slider breaks well horizontally and vertically and has been Nichols’ putaway pitch, helping his K rate take a nice jump this summer. He shows a changeup, too, with roughly 10 mph separation off the heater. He sells it well with his arm speed, leading to whiffs, but it trails the other two pitches in overall usage.

Nichols has filled up the zone a ton in pro ball, leading to a walk rate around just five percent in the first half of 2025, but it’s control over command. Batters have teed off enough on his pitches in the heart of the zone to the point where his walk and home run totals have been equal at times with Bowling Green. He might still end up in a bullpen to see how much more velo he can squeeze out, but his starter chances are better now than they were on Draft Day.

Awards

SOU Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
08/17/2025

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	08/05/2025	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to Montgomery Biscuits from Bowling Green Hot Rods.
	04/01/2025	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to Bowling Green Hot Rods.
	08/27/2024	Charleston RiverDogs activated RHP T.J. Nichols from the 7-day injured list.
	08/15/2024	Charleston RiverDogs placed RHP T.J. Nichols on the 7-day injured list.
	08/14/2024	Charleston RiverDogs placed RHP T.J. Nichols on the 7-day injured list.
	07/21/2024	Charleston RiverDogs activated RHP T.J. Nichols from the 7-day injured list.
	07/21/2024	Charleston RiverDogs activated RHP T.J. Nichols from the 7-day injured list.
	07/04/2024	Charleston RiverDogs placed RHP T.J. Nichols on the 7-day injured list.
	06/29/2024	Charleston RiverDogs activated RHP T.J. Nichols from the 7-day injured list.
	06/20/2024	Charleston RiverDogs placed RHP T.J. Nichols on the 7-day injured list.
	04/02/2024	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to Charleston RiverDogs from FCL Rays.
	08/08/2023	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to FCL Rays.
	07/21/2023	Tampa Bay Rays signed RHP T.J. Nichols.
	06/06/2023	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to College Workout.
	02/03/2023	RHP T.J. Nichols assigned to Arizona Wildcats.
	02/03/2022	RHP T.J. Nichols and assigned to Arizona Wildcats.