Doug Nikhazy Archives - All Mississippi Baseball

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If Cleveland sees a need for rotation help down the stretch, the Guardians may not have to look far. At Triple-A Columbus, ex-Ole Miss star Doug Nikhazy is putting up impressive numbers. The left-hander, 24, was nothing short of sensational on Wednesday, throwing six shutout innings and allowing two hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in a 3-1 win over Indianapolis. In three starts for the Clippers, Nikhazy is 2-0 and has yet to yield a run in 17 innings. He spent some time on the injured list (oblique strain) early this season but bounced back to post a 3.17 ERA in 11 Double-A starts. He has a 3.94 in 64 career pro games. The 6-foot, 210-pound Nikhazy was an ace — and an All-America selection — at Ole Miss in 2021, going 12-2 with a 2.45 and punching out 142 batters in 92 innings. Cleveland took him in the second round that summer, and per scouting reports, he had some command issues early in his pro career. He appears to have cleaned that up, with just 24 walks and 68 strikeouts over 65 innings in 2024. Nikhazy throws four pitches, including a mid-90s fastball. He has slipped off the Guardians’ top prospect chart but no doubt has got their attention now. P.S. Southern Miss alum Matt Wallner, in four games since being recalled by Minnesota, is 6-for-11 with a double and two home runs, including one on Wednesday. The tall left-handed slugger has hit two balls at 116 mph-plus. That’s really hard.

a glimpse?

It’s not hard to imagine seeing, a few years down the road, in a major league stadium, a rematch of the duel that took place on Friday night in Oxford. Two highly regarded MLB draft prospects — Ole Miss’ Doug Nikhazy and Vanderbilt’s Kumar Rocker — went toe-to-toe in a scouts’ delight before a wild and crazy crowd at Swayze Field. Nikhazy got the win this time, holding second-ranked Vandy to five hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts over seven innings in a 3-1 victory. Rocker also went seven, allowing five hits (including homers by Kevin Graham and TJ McCants) and one walk with eight K’s. The big right-hander lost for just the second time against 11 wins. His ERA rose to 2.44. With Gunnar Hoglund out for the year with an arm injury, Ole Miss, ranked 17th by Baseball America, needs more stuff like this from lefty Nikhazy (7-2, 1.89 ERA) with the SEC Tournament and NCAAs ahead. In MLB Pipeline’s latest prospect rankings, the 6-foot Nikhazy, who relies more on breaking stuff than an overpowering fastball, checked in at No. 100. The 6-4 Rocker, who throws very hard, was No. 3. They certainly didn’t look that far apart on Friday night.