Pittsburgh selected Nicolas' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old will get his first taste of major-league action down the stretch after posting a 5.20 ERA and 127:52 K:BB in 98.2 innings this summer between Double-A and Triple-A. He showed much better following a move to the Indianapolis bullpen in early August, delivering a 2.05 ERA with 31 strikeouts across his last 22 frames. Thomas Hatch was optioned out in a corresponding 28-man roster move.
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Pirates' Kyle Nicolas: Rejoins Double-A rotation
Rotowire
Nicolas (shoulder) was activated from Double-A Altoona's 7-day injured list Saturday and struck out two over 2.2 innings while giving up two runs on three hits and a walk in his return to the mound.
Nicolas was cleared to make his return to Altoona's active roster as a long reliever after a three-week stint on the shelf with a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old right-hander should slot back into the rotation next week and will take a 4.15 ERA and 1.28 WHIP into his 12th outing of the season with Altoona.
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Pirates' Kyle Nicolas: Strong debut for Altoona
Rotowire
Nicolas allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five over 3.2 innings in his debut for Double-A Altoona.
According to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, the Pirates were raving about Nicolas this spring and scouts in other organizations think the Pirates did really well to land him from Miami in the Jacob Stallings trade. Nicolas has logged 43 innings at Double-A dating back to last season, so he could earn a midseason bump to Triple-A Indianapolis.
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Pirates' Kyle Nicolas: Traded to Pittsburgh
Rotowire
Nicolas, Zach Thompson and Connor Scott were sent from Miami to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jacob Stallings on Monday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
Nicolas was selected 61st overall in the 2020 draft. He posted a 4.18 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance at the High-A and Double-A levels in his first taste of professional action in 2021, combining an excellent 31.9 percent strikeout rate with a worrisome 11.5 percent walk rate.
