Jacob Nix | RHP
Background
Nix, 19, was the Astros’ fifth round pick last year out of a California high school, and he agreed to sign for an above slot $1.5M. When Houston’s deal with first overall pick Brady Aiken fell apart, they backed out of the agreement with Nix because they no longer had the bonus pool savings from the Aiken pick. Nix filed a grievance and the two sides settled for $1.5M six figures before going to a hearing. He is now doing a post-graduate year at IMG Academy in Florida and is draft-eligible again this summer.
Scouting Report
At 6-foot-4 and 205 lbs., Nix has the model pitcher’s frame, and depending on the day you’ll see either a future ace or a future fifth starter. His fastball jumped this spring and he now sits in the 92-95 mph range with some run back in on righties. Nix’s curveball is inconsistent but is a true put-away pitch at its best. His changeup is more consistent but doesn’t show the same out pitch potential. Command is an issue but Nix has worked hard to spring to tighten up his mechanics. He’s still pretty raw, though Nix has made some nice strides since the Astros left him at the altar last year.
Miscellany
In their latest rankings, Keith Law (subs. req’d), Baseball America, and MLB.com ranked Nix as the 30th, 37th, and 45th best prospect in the draft class, respectively. Law said he heard the Yankees were in on Nix in his most recent mock draft. Nix is going to go much higher this year — he was more of a third rounder who fell to the fifth round due to bonus demands last summer — but he isn’t a slam dunk first rounder. He’s definitely not a quick to MLB prospect either. The Yankees pick 16th, 30th, and 57th this year. Nix won’t be around for 57th overall, so it would have to be 16th or 30th, likely 30th.
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