The Guardians selected Nikhazy to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Nikhazy's addition to Cleveland's 40-man will prevent him from being selected during the Rule 5 Draft in December. The 25-year-old southpaw split time between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus last season, posting a 2.98 ERA and 1.09 WHIP across 123.2 total innings. If he's able to find similar success to start the new season, Nikhazy could be called up for his MLB debut at some point in 2025.
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Guardians' Doug Nikhazy: Faring well at Triple-A
Rotowire
Nikhazy has a 0.86 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 21 innings across four starts for Triple-A Columbus.
A second-round selection in 2021, Nikhazy has outperformed his scouting report this season. The 24-year-old lefty doesn't have an overpowering fastball (sits in the low-90s), but he has multiple above-average-to-plus secondary offerings, and his fastball has good movement. His walk rates at Double-A and Triple-A have been just north of 10 percent, which is a big improvement for him, as he had a 15.4 percent walk rate at Double-A last year. Nikhazy's 54.3 percent groundball rate at Triple-A is another mark in his favor. He could be an option to join the big-league rotation this summer.
