Pirates A to Z: Former undrafted free agent Nick Mears made a rapid rise to the majors

During the offseason, the Tribune-Review will offer Pirates A to Z, an alphabetical player-by-player look at the 40-man roster, from outfielder Anthony Alford to pitcher Trevor Williams.

Nick Mears

Position: Pitcher

Throws: Right

Age: 24

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 215 pounds

2020 MLB statistics: 0-0, 5.40 ERA/2.200 WHIP in five innings over four appearances.

Contract: Not yet eligible for arbitration.

Acquired: Signed by Pirates as non-drafted free agent in 2018.

This past season: That Mears made it to the major leagues is an incredible story, considering that he signed as an undrafted free agent only two years earlier.

After an injury riddled career at Sacramento City College, where he didn’t make much of an impact until his senior year, Adam Berry of MLB.com reported that the Pirates signed Mears for $15,000 after scouting him in the Northwoods League.

In short-season ball with the West Virginia Black Bears that summer, Mears touched 97 mph and had eight strikeouts while allowing one hit and one walk in four scoreless innings over three games.

Nick Mears has been dominant for @The_Marauders this year. 4-1 record so far, 2.45 ERA, 22 IP, 31 K, 5 BB, 0.77 WHIP. Here he is sitting 97-100 the other week ? #OAFam #OAPros #BlowinNoise @NickMears38 pic.twitter.com/Q6O0DZOgdY

— Optimum Athletes (@AthletesOptimum) July 7, 2019

Mears gained 30 pounds in the offseason and started the 2019 season at Class A Greensboro, where he had 19 strikeouts in seven games, before being promoted to Bradenton (4-2, 3.60 ERA with 43 strikeouts and nine walks in 30 innings). He finished the season with four games at Double-A Altoona, opening eyes by popping 101 on the radar gun.

Still, making it to the majors was a huge jump. With a bullpen beleaguered by injuries, the Pirates didn’t have much choice. On Aug. 8, they optioned Miguel Del Pozo and selected Mears from the alternate training site in Altoona.

“We needed an available pitcher today, and Nick Mears has been throwing the ball well in Altoona. Doing good work there, got good reports from the staff, so he’s on the team,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “We weren’t going to be able to use Del Pozo again (the next day), so it just gives us an additional available pitcher. We’ll look forward to seeing what Nick can do.”

The past 24 hours has been nothing short of a dream. For those of you who have been a part of the journey, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. #GoBucs

— Nick Mears (@NickMears46) August 9, 2020

His first appearance in a big league game.#WelcometotheShow, @NickMears46! pic.twitter.com/CjMTs0BClq

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 8, 2020

After Derek Holland gave up a home run and back-to-back doubles to start the sixth inning against Detroit, Mears got the call. His debut is most memorable for what happened against the first batter he faced, as Miguel Cabrera hit a pop fly into foul territory that first baseman Phillip Evans chased before colliding with right fielder Gregory Polanco. Evans, who suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw that required season-ending surgery, was carted off the field at PNC Park.

Mears, meantime, gave up a sacrifice fly, followed by a walk, a single and another walk. He got Victor Reyes swinging for his first career strikeout but gave up a bases-loaded walk to Grayson Greiner. Mears struck out JaCoby Jones to end the inning.

Mears appeared in three more games, striking out as many batters (seven) as he walked while allowing three earned runs on four hits, including a solo homer by Jedd Gyorko in his final outing. Mears allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings in that game, a 9-1 loss at Milwaukee.

Nick Mears with some nice late action on the heater for the K pic.twitter.com/CZkm9to4Kf

— Pirates Analytics (@piRatesanalysis) August 29, 2020

The future: Mears is still raw, given how little he pitched in college and his rapid ascent through the minors. That he pitched in the majors before throwing in a Triple-A game wasn’t in the Pirates’ plans.

That Mears had a 12.6 rate of both strikeouts and walks per nine innings showed he can get swing-and-miss action but must improve his control.

Mears relied heavily on his four-seam fastball that sits at 97-98 and a curveball he threw 31.6% of the time, a two-pitch repertoire that could be complemented by a changeup.

What’s promising for the Pirates is that they have a pair of young relievers in Mears and Blake Cederlind who can touch triple digits as future electric arms for the back end of the bullpen.

Check out the entire Pirates A to Z series here.