Name Nick Rickles | Role Baseball athlete | |
Current team | ||
Nationals prospect nick rickles makes nasty spinning tag
Nicholas "Nick" Jay Rickles (born February 2, 1990) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Contents
- Nationals prospect nick rickles makes nasty spinning tag
- Nick Rickles The Journey From A Player To A Coach
- Early and personal life
- High school
- College
- Minor leagues
- Team Israel
- References
As a high school senior, Rickles was voted Florida All-State. At Stetson University, he was named a TPX Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, and in his junior year in 2011 was named First Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference and a College Baseball All America Honorable Mention. Rickles was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.
In 2011, he was voted a New York-Pennsylvania League mid-season All Star while playing for the Vermont Lake Monsters. He was voted Midwest League Player of the Week on July 29, 2013, while playing for the Beloit Snappers. He missed the entire 2014 season after suffering a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. In February 2016, Rickles signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He played that season for the Class AA Eastern League Harrisburg Senators, and the Class AAA International League Syracuse Chiefs. Rickles played on Team Israel during the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the qualifying round for the 2017 World Baseball Classic in September 2016, and for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic main tournament.
Nick Rickles - The Journey From A Player To A Coach
Early and personal life
Rickles was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, grew up in Loxahatchee, Florida, and is Jewish. His parents are Linda and Ken Rickles, and he has a younger brother.
High school
He attended Palm Beach Gardens Community High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a senior, when Rickles became a catcher, he batted .512 (third in Palm Beach County) with an .869 slugging percentage and 5 home runs and 32 RBIs (both second in Palm Beach County), while throwing out 80% of attempted base stealers, and was voted All-State. He was voted First Team All-Conference and All-Area as both a junior and a senior, and named "Player to Watch" by the Palm Beach Post.
College
Rickles played college baseball for Stetson University, where he majored in Sports Management. In 2009 as a freshman, he started all 57 games and was second in the league in runners thrown out stealing with 19. He was named a TPX Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, and voted to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team. In 2010 as a sophomore he played in all 58 games, had a .997 fielding percentage at catcher, threw out 19 runners attempting to steal and also picked off 7 runners, and was on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List.
In his junior year in 2011, his last season in college, he hit .353, with 12 home runs and 60 RBIs, and had an OPS of 1.008. That season he had a streak of 178 at bats without striking out, led the Stetson Hatters into the NCAA Regionals, and was named First Team All-Atlantic Sun and a College Baseball All America Honorable Mention.
Minor leagues
Rickles was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 14th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He used his $60,000 signing bonus to buy himself a Chevy Avalanche pickup truck, and also received payment for his final year of college if he chooses to finish his degree.
He made his professional debut in 2011 playing for the Rookie Arizona League Athletics and the Class A (Short-Season) New York-Penn League Vermont Lake Monsters, for whom in 47 aggregate games Rickles batted .310/.370/.458 with 2 home runs and 35 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases himself in 7 attempts, while throwing out 42% of stolen base attempts. He was voted a 2011 New York-Pennsylvania League mid-season All Star while playing for Vermont.
Rickles spent the 2012 season with the Class A Midwest League Burlington Bees, for whom he threw out 43% of attempted base stealers. In 2013, he played for the Class A Midwest League Beloit Snappers (for whom the threw out 42% of attempted base stealers) and the Double-A Texas League Midland RockHounds. He was voted Midwest League Player of the Week on July 29, 2013.
He missed the entire 2014 season after suffering a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder during spring training in February 2014, that necessitated surgery on May 5, 2014. Rickles returned in 2015 with the Class A-Advanced California League Stockton Ports, Midland (throwing out 46% of attempted base stealers), and the Triple-A Pacific Coast League Nashville Sounds. Midland RockHounds manager Ryan Christenson said:
"Any time you have a catcher that can control the running game, it’s real important. He does more than just throw out base runners though. He’s very adept at throwing behind runners trying to pick guys off and keep them honest. He handles the pitching staff well."
He was released by the Athletics after the season, in October 2015.
On February 1, 2016, Rickles signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He played in 2016 for the Class AA Eastern League Harrisburg Senators (catching 30% of attempted base stealers), and the Class AAA International League Syracuse Chiefs.
On May 25, 2017, the Nationals traded Rickles to the Philadelphia Phillies. He was assigned to the Reading Fightin Phils of the Class AA Eastern League.He was called up to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, of the AAA International League on August 8th, 2017
Team Israel
Rickles, who is Jewish, played on the Israeli national baseball team during the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Rickles only appearance in the tournament was as a late-inning defensive replacement, and he did not record any at bats.
Rickles again played for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier in September 2016. During the opening game he went 1 for 3 with a strikeout, as the DH, before being pinch hit for by Ike Davis, and Rickles did not play in the final two games.
Rickles played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.