Trey Nielsen

Trey Storm Nielsen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.

• School University of Utah
• High School Skyline High School (Salt Lake City)

• Born September 1, 1991 in Salt Lake City, UT USA

BR register page

Biographical Information

Trey Nielsen has pitched in the minors. His father Scott Nielsen pitched in the majors and brother Dustin Nielsen pitched in the independent leagues and Italy.

Trey hit .485 as a high school junior and .444 with 10 homers as a senior, going 6-1 with a 1.21 ERA and 96 K in 58 IP the latter year. Both years, he was All-State. The Chicago Cubs took him in the 42nd round of the 2010 amateur draft, one round after Dallas Beeler and one round before Daniel Winkler. He did not sign and went on to college.

As a freshman at Utah, he hit .318/.365/.572 with 41 RBI in 48 games. He was second-team All-Mountain West Conference at third base. He tied Jaycob Brugman for 4th in the MWC in dingers. In 2012, the sophomore slumped to .235/.283/.348 with two home runs and 20 RBI in 56 games while battling an injury as well. The next year, his offense did not return to his freshman levels (hitting .232/.273/.367) and he took the mound a little (6 R, 4 ER, 11 H in 6 IP). The St. Louis Cardinals chose him in the 30th round of the 2013 amateur draft.

He did not make his pro debut in 2013, though, due to Tommy John surgery. In 2014, he was 3-2 with a save, 2.50 ERA and .99 WHIP for the State College Spikes for a fine pro debut. In the playoffs, he allowed only one hit in six shutout innings and got a win. For a guy who had pitched fix innings since high school and come off surgery, it was an impressive turn. During 2015, he was 9-6 with a 2.59 ERA for the Palm Beach Cardinals. He was 7th in the Cardinals system in ERA and sixth in opponent average (.242).

He then joined the Italian national team for the 2015 Premier 12. He was 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA. In his first outing, he relieved Alessandro Maestri with a 1-0 deficit in a close game with Puerto Rico. He had a rough inning, walking Jay González with one out, allowing a single to Jack Lopez, a two-run triple to Dickie Joe Thon then throwing a wild pitch. Andrea Pizziconi relieved in the 6th and Italy lost, 7-1. In his other game, he relieved Maestri again, this time with a 1-1 tie in the 5th against Cuba. He got an out to end the 5th and tossed a scoreless sixth. In the 7th, though, he walked Yordan Manduley and (with two outs) Yulieski Gourriel then Alfredo Despaigne singled in Manduley. Luca Panerati took over but the damage had been done and Nielsen took a 2-1 loss.

A non-roster invitee after just two years in the pro ranks and having been a 30th-round pick, he made it to AAA in 2016. He spent most of the summer with the Springfield Cardinals (8-8, Sv, 3.84) and had one spot start with the Memphis Redbirds (1-0, 1.69). He was 9th in the Texas League in ERA. Only one Cardinal farmhand (Ryan Helsley) had more wins.

He then returned to the Italian squad for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He took the mound in the 10th inning of a slugfest with Venezuela with a 10-10 score, the 7th hurler for his team that day, relieving Pat Venditte (five of his six predecessors having allowed runs to Venezuela, which was facing elimination). He got Ender Inciarte on a grounder but allowed a single to José Altuve and a run-scoring double to Martin Prado. He intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera then retired Carlos González and Rougned Odor, but Italy was shut out in the bottom of the tenth and Nielsen took the defeat.

Sources

• University of Utah
• The Baseball Cube
• World Baseball and Softball Confederation
• 2016 Cardinals Media Guide
• World Baseball Classic