Cleveland Guardians 2023 prospect scouting report: #30 LHP Doug Nikhazy

Nikhazy proved his stuff could get outs in High-A, but struggled with control, command and dropped his shoulder on his changeup at times.

Build, Background, Delivery 

Smaller, compact frame. Good athlete. Uses a high, over the top armslot. Nikhazy had a well-decorated college career at Ole Miss. He was one of the Rebels best starters and a fiery competitor on the mound. 

What Nikhazy does well 

A big, 12-6 curveball leads NIkhazy’s arsenal. It plays well off of his fastball which has a lot of carry and vertical movement. Even at a lower velocity, the carry on his fastball makes more deceptive and allows it to play above its speed at times. It works well at the top of the zone. Nikhazy’s slider has flashed average at times. His stuff misses plenty of bats when he locates it and he’s hard to square up consistently, at least against High-A batters.

What Nikhazy needs to improve 

Control and command are among the biggest goals Nikhazy should have for improvement. He walked more batters than he allowed hits at High-A. Though his fastball does play above its velocity thanks to the carry, he could use more of a bump in that department as well. Nikhazy stopped throwing his changeup late in the season in 2022. He would drop his arm slot on occasion when throwing the pitch.

Intangibles 

Nikhazy has a strong background pitching in a competitive environment, and he’s a very fiery competitor on the mound. He’s also a very well liked teammate and has been referred to as a smart pitching mind. 

Baseball America @BaseballAmerica

Doug Day did NOT disappoint. Doug Nikhazy had 16 K’s last night. He has a 2.21 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 85.1 innings. And he stars on big stages. More on him here: baseballamerica.com/stories/ncaa-t… (🎥 @OleMissBSB)

Future 

With two strong pitches and control issues, Nikhazy sounds suited for a bullpen role. But he’s got enough of a background and smarts pitching wise that he should continue to work as a starter and hope to improve on things in 2024. There’s no reason to give up on him as a starter with some of his stuff, but his fastball/curveball combination would potentially play very well as a late inning relief option, should it ever come to that.

Role- 40 backend starter/set up relief

Guardians Baseball Insider @Official_CGBI

@JL_Baseball Doug Nikhazy flashed bat missing stuff all season around his bouts with his control. Missing bats was never a problem for him in his 93 High-A innings. Hitters had a hard time making a lot of contact against him when he was in the zone.