On a balmy evening at Petco Park, close to 70 family members and friends cheered whenever Jacob Nix threw a strike. He did so 63 times, the number in the box score nearly aligning with the number in the seats. They cheered pitch after pitch after pitch. They even cheered when, during one of his at-bats, he hit a ball that landed foul.
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A triumphant major-league debut, of course, is something to be savored. Nix, who four years ago missed out on starting his career, who later missed out on starting consecutive seasons, delivered a memorable first impression Friday night. The Padres beat the Phillies, 2-0. Austin Hedges homered and scored both runs, yet afterward, the catcher mostly marveled at the performance of a 22-year-old right-hander.
“The composure he has, the confidence he has, that’s about as good as you’re going to get,” Hedges said. “You couldn’t even tell that was his debut.”
Since they dedicated themselves to compiling long-term assets, the Padres have touted an upcoming flood of youth. But it is one thing to talk about what could or might happen; it is another to see plans unfold on a big-league field. It is something else to witness a pristine introduction.
Nix on Friday became the fifth starting pitcher to make his big-league debut with the Padres this season. He became the seventh pitcher in franchise history to throw six or more shutout innings in his first career game. He went that exact distance, yielding four hits and two walks. He struck out four batters. He displayed efficiency and precision across 88 pitches, including a change-up that sent Rhys Hoskins, Philadelphia’s best hitter, trudging back to the dugout.
“He’s really polished and confident,” Chris Kemp, the Padres’ minor-league field coordinator, said earlier this week.
That could be said of any number of pitchers, but it is noteworthy in this case. In 2017, a groin strain postponed the beginning of Nix’s season. He did not debut in High-A until late that May. He wound up throwing fewer than 100 innings between Lake Elsinore and Double-A San Antonio.
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This spring, he suffered the same injury two days before he reported to Peoria, Ariz. He spent the majority of his first big-league camp on the trainer’s table. He did not pitch once in the Cactus League. He finally made his season debut, with San Antonio, on May 30.
“There’ve been various times both last year and this year when we were like, ‘Is he going to get his season off the ground even?’” farm director Sam Geaney said before Friday’s game. “Because [the groin injury has] been limiting. … It just kind of speaks to his mental toughness, that he’s been able to, two years in a row, pitch through it and get past it and go out and have a fairly full season.”
His 2018 finally underway, Nix logged a 1.84 ERA over 10 starts with San Antonio. Then he received a promotion to Triple-A that lasted all of one outing.
Last Saturday, he tossed six scoreless innings for El Paso. A few days later, he learned he would be starting the Padres’ series opener against Philadelphia. With the team on the road in Milwaukee, he arrived at Petco Park and played catch. On Friday afternoon, he entered manager Andy Green’s office and sat down.
“A lot of people clam up in those moments,” Green said. “They get really, really quiet. They get really anxious, really nervous. He was talking all day. You could tell he was comfortable in his own skin.
“He was bigger than this moment.”
Nix had been waiting for such a moment perhaps longer than he should have. The Orange County native grew up attending games at Angel Stadium, where his mother, Cindy, worked in the suites. A position player at the time, he exulted in receiving a ball signed by David Eckstein.
At Los Alamitos High, he learned how to pitch and grew into a sturdy frame. By the summer of 2014, he was projected to be an early selection in the June draft. The Astros took him in the fifth round and offered an above-slot bonus of $1.5 million. The verbal agreement fell through when Brady Aiken, the No. 1 overall pick, was found to have an elbow abnormality, throwing Houston’s spending plans into disarray.
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Nix enlisted the Major League Baseball Players’ Association in filing a grievance, lost a scholarship to UCLA because of it, and settled for an undisclosed amount with the Astros. In order to re-enter the draft a year hence, he spent a season pitching for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
“Obviously, four years ago, it was a tough time,” Nix said. “The whole Astros thing, and I lost my NCAA eligibility. I didn’t have a role. I didn’t have anywhere to play. I didn’t really have a lot of opportunity in front of me. And it’s amazing how far you can come in that amount of time.”
The Padres drafted Nix in the third round the following year, then signed him for $900,000. His upside as a mid-rotation starter or better remained intact. He began what looked to be a steady climb through the system. He strained an adductor muscle in 2017 and again this spring. And yet, on Friday, he found himself facing the Phillies.
“We love all of our kids, but he’s kind of a player-development favorite,” Geaney said. “He’s someone we’re really excited to see get up here. Part of it’s just seeing him persevere through some of this health stuff. Part of it’s just his personality. He’s a fun kid to be around.”
Nix’s pre-game looseness translated to the mound, where he spotted a mid-90s fastball to various quadrants, induced weak contact with his curveball and fooled batters with his changeup. It was the same formula he had relied upon to ascend through the minor leagues, and he succeeded by being himself.
Hedges’ previous experience catching Nix consisted of an extended spring training game — both players were on the disabled list early this season — yet he had caught a glimpse even then.
“He dominated that,” Hedges said. “He dominated this just as much, though.
“He was calm, he was cool, he was confident and he pitched like it. With a mentality like that, you can expect great things from him.”
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Nix could hear the cheers throughout his start. Most of all, he could hear his grandmother. “She’s always been the one I can hear,” he said with a smile.
After the game, he reflected on a circuitous and at times inert journey. There will be bumps ahead, of course. He may opt for surgery in the offseason, in an attempt to prevent future groin injuries. Late Friday, though, there was only time for elation.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Nix said. “I’ve worked my whole life for this moment. I’m on cloud nine right now.”
Several minutes later, after he had fulfilled his media obligations, Nix walked out of the clubhouse and into the adjoining hallway. The sound of cheering could be heard through the doors.
(Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
