Adrián Nieto

Adrian Nieto

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 200 lb.
• High School American Heritage High School
• Debut April 2, 2014
• Final Game September 26, 2014
• Born November 12, 1989 in Havana Cuba

BR page

Biographical Information

Adrian Nieto has caught in the minor leagues.

Nieto was an Aflac All-American in high school. As a senior, he hit .372 with 16 doubles, helping his school to a state title (along with Eric Hosmer and J.C. Sulbaran). The Washington Nationals took him in the fifth round of the 2008 amateur draft, one pick after Daniel Hudson; the scout was Tony Arango. He went 5 for 23 with two walks that summer for the GCL Nationals. Baseball America named him Washington's #8 prospect entering 2009, between Destin Hood and J.P. Ramirez. In 2009, Adrian hit only .228/.337/.287 for the GCL Nationals with 10 passed balls in 29 games behind the plate.

Nieto was a backup for the 2010 Hagerstown Suns, eking out a .195/.291/.253 batting line in 60 games. He had 15 passed balls and 13 errors in his limited time, playing behind Sandy León. He bounced around in 2011, appearing for the Auburn Doubledays (.302/.397/.462 in 30 G), Suns (.255/.318/.449 in 27 G) and Potomac Nationals (1 for 5, BB). Starting for the Suns in 2012, he hit .257/.346/.393 and had 14 passed balls in 65 games.

Adrian then played for the Spanish national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He went 5 for 16 with two doubles, three walks, three runs and a RBI as Spain's starting catcher. His passed ball in the 8th inning of the finale let Israel's Ben Guez score to tie it at 7-7. Spain still beat Israel to advance. In the 2013 World Baseball Classic itself, he was 0 for 6 with two whiffs as Spain's main backstop.

He spent the 2013 season with the Potomac Nationals of the Carolina League, where he hit .282 /.371/.446 with 28 doubles and 11 homers in 109 games. After the season, he was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 2013 Rule V Draft; he was the second pick, following Patrick Schuster. He impressed everyone in spring training with his maturity and ability to handle pitchers and as a result won the job as back-up to Tyler Flowers in Chicago at the start of the 2014 season. He made his big league debut against the Minnesota Twins on April 2nd, pinch-running for Paul Konerko in the 9th inning of a game the White Sox were losing 6-4; he scored on a single by Leury Garcia, as did a second run and the game went into extra innings. He stayed in the game at catcher, grounding out to second in his first at-bat against Michael Tonkin and the Sox eventually won the game, 7-6, in 11 innings.

Related Sites

• Adrian Nieto on mlb.com
• BR Minors page