He falls behind hitters far too often
Nicolas throws a strike on the first pitch 45.2% of the time.
42 plate appearances started in 2026.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Nicolas works off the plate, with only 33.3% of his pitches in the zone, 2nd percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 525th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Nicolas's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.1.
96 thrown, 48.5% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Nicolas's 4-seam fastball carries 17.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Nicolas averages 92.4 mph across his arsenal, 85th percentile in the league.
198 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 82nd in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.6% of Nicolas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
29 of 198 located pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Nicolas goes to the 4-seam fastball: 57.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 46.2% the rest of the time.
42 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Nicolas throws the slider 40.9% of the time against right-handers and 19.7% against left-handers.
127 pitches to right-handers, 71 to left-handers.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Nicolas's stuff spins at 2,477 rpm, 86th percentile in the league.
198 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 74th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Nicolas projects a .367 average, 15th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Nicolas releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
158 tracked pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Nicolas works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 48.5% of everything he throws.
198 classified pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Nicolas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
198 located pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Nicolas puts 46.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.2% when he is ahead.
81 located pitches behind, 32 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Nicolas's slider spins at 2,543 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
66 thrown in 2026.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 35% of the contact Nicolas gives up is hit hard, 70th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 163rd in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Nicolas releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 0.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
198 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Nicolas is weak: 87.1 mph off the bat on average, 69th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 168th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.8 mph separates Nicolas's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.8 against 90.0.
96 and 66 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He falls behind hitters far too often
Nicolas throws a strike on the first pitch 45.2% of the time.
42 plate appearances started in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Nicolas goes to the 4-seam fastball: 57.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 46.2% the rest of the time.
42 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Nicolas puts 46.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.2% when he is ahead.
81 located pitches behind, 32 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Nicolas works off the plate, with only 33.3% of his pitches in the zone, 2nd percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 525th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Nicolas's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.1.
96 thrown, 48.5% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Nicolas throws the slider 40.9% of the time against right-handers and 19.7% against left-handers.
127 pitches to right-handers, 71 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Nicolas works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 48.5% of everything he throws.
198 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Nicolas's slider spins at 2,543 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
66 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.8 mph separates Nicolas's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.8 against 90.0.
96 and 66 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Nicolas's 4-seam fastball carries 17.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Nicolas averages 92.4 mph across his arsenal, 85th percentile in the league.
198 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 82nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.6% of Nicolas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
29 of 198 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Nicolas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
198 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Nicolas's stuff spins at 2,477 rpm, 86th percentile in the league.
198 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 74th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Nicolas projects a .367 average, 15th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 35% of the contact Nicolas gives up is hit hard, 70th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 163rd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Nicolas is weak: 87.1 mph off the bat on average, 69th percentile.
198 pitches in 2026. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 168th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Nicolas releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
158 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Nicolas releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 0.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
198 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
Pirates
Career team 2023–2025