Michael Nix

Nix has been around the Auburn baseball program all his life, and he was throwing in the mid-80s when he was a 14-year-old attending Tigers baseball camps. His uncle Paul coached on the Plains, and his father was a basketball/baseball player at the school. Scouts never made a serious attempt to draft him until he performed, in spite his big arm, knowing how much he wanted to play for the Tigers. Now he has done it, teaming with sidearming John Madden to form--BOOM!--the Southeastern Conference's best bullpen tandem. Nix is a physical power pitcher who pitches at 90-92 mph and touches 94. New Auburn pitching coach Matt Meyers has done an excellent job quieting Nix' delivery, helping him throw more consistent strikes and making his slider a fringe-average pitch. He's also fiddled with a split-finger fastball. Even with secondary stuff that needed work, Nix led the SEC in saves and could throw harder if he continues to refine his mechanics. He projects as a set-up man.