J.J. Niekro

James Niekro

• Bats Right, Throw Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Florida Southern College
• High School Jesuit High School (Tampa)

• Born January 28, 1998 in Tampa, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

J.J. Niekro comes from a famous baseball family. His father Joe Niekro pitched in the majors for 22 seasons and his uncle Phil Niekro is in the Hall of Fame; brother Lance Niekro also played in the majors, albeit as a position player. His father was already in his 50's when he was born, and his brother is 19 years older than him. Like his father and uncle, he is a pitcher, albeit a conventional one; he does fool around with the family's trademark pitch - the knuckleball - but has not made it part of his game repertoire. He learned it from his uncle, as his father passed away when he was only 8 years old.

Born in Tampa, FL, he went to high school there then attended Florida Southern College, like his older brother, staying for five years as he lost almost a full season to the Coronavirus pandemic. In fact he was off to a great start in his senior year, going 3-1, 1.86 in his first five starts when the pandemic put an end to his season. After the 2021 college season, being undrafted, he played briefly for the Frederick Keys, formerly a minor league team but now part of the newly-formed MLB Draft League. He signed with the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent on July 23rd and began his pro career with the FCL Braves going 2-0, 2.76 in 10 games as a reliever. That ERA was a bit misleading, as he gave up 16 runs in 16 1/3 innings, but only 5 of them were earned. More impressive were his 23 strikeouts against 9 walks.

Further Reading

• Mark Bowman: "New 'Knucksie' in town? J.J. Niekro embracing Phil, Joe's legacy", mlb.com, March 9, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• Florida Southern bio