Ryne
Nelson

3/2/19: Six-foot-4, 182 pounds with a lean, athletic frame and sloped shoulders. Room for projection remains. Former two-way player transitioning to a starting role for the first time. Uses a simple, repeatable delivery with steady tempo. Glove side gets above his lead shoulder during stride to create leverage/angle. After hand break, slight stabbing action shows the ball behind back-side before getting into high three-quarter release point. Slight cross action at landing. Seems to have toned down the effort from his days as a reliever. Showed a four pitch mix on this look. Fastball comfortably sat 92-94 mph, topped at 95. Occasionally flashes arm-side run but mostly stays true with some downward angle. Showed a willingness to use his cutter early as go-to secondary pitch. Velocity ranged from 83-87 with varying shape. At higher velo, it works as a chase pitch that he can expand the zone with. Found a lot of barrel when it was thrown for a strike though as it has minimal depth and only slight horizontal movement. Curveball shows true 11/5 shape with some depth at 76-78. Lastly, changeup sat 81-83 but was used sparingly. More of a straight offering with late, tumbling action. Didn't display an advanced feel for any particular secondary pitch. Overall, the athleticism and arm talent are there, but it seems Nelson is still figuring out his identity as a full-time starter. (Jurik)

8/15/18: Athletic closer with a big arm. Appeared in 14 games, earning six saves. At six-foot-four, 190 pounds Nelson packs plenty of effort into his delivery which produced a fastball topping at 96 mph. It lacked much life with a spin rate of 2200-2300 rpm during his all-star game appearance. Throws with a longer arm path to a high three-quarter slot. Lands across his body and off balance. More thrower than pitcher, Nelson profiles to the back end of the bullpen. Based on his athleticism and arm strength alone, he will likely be considered early in Day Two in 2019. (Seifert)