Nick Dini Professional Statistics
Royals Invite 19 Non-Roster Players To Spring Training (Courtesy: FOX Sports Kansas City)
Kansas City Royals: Getting To Know Nick Dini (Courtesy: Eric Boston, Kings Of Kauffman, FanSided)
Surprise, AZ – Former Wagner catcher and
2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Year,
Nick Dini, will be one of 19 non-roster invitees to the Kansas City Royals' major league spring training when pitchers and catchers report to Surprise, AZ on Tuesday, February 13. Workouts for pitchers and catchers begin the following day, Wednesday, February 14. Dini joins fellow backstops, Parker Morin and Chase Vallot as part of the 19 players that earned the invitation.
"We couldn't be happier for Nick, as he prepares for his first MLB Spring Training," commented Wagner baseball head coach,
Jim Carone. "His invitation to big league camp is a testament to his work ethic and competitiveness; which has allowed him to climb through the levels of one of the best farm systems in baseball with the Kansas City Royals. We are excited to follow Nick's progress this year."
A 14th-round draft pick by the Royals in 2015, Dini played a total of 88 games between the Lexington Legends (Class-A) and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A) in 2017. In 24 games with Lexington, the Monroe Township, NJ native batted .283 with a .323 on-base percentage and a total OPS (on-base + slugging percentage) of .780. He earned the promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas back on May 30 following a pair of home runs, 11 RBIs, ten doubles and a slugging percentage of .457.
"My initial reaction was shear excitement for me and my family," said Dini. "Everyone was ecstatic. It's another step in my development and I'm honored for the opportunity to compete with the big league club."
In his first game with the Naturals, Dini went 2-for-3 with a double. Fast-forwarding to June 7, Dini connected on his first home run of his Double-A career against the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) to lead off the bottom of the third inning in a game that the Naturals won, 5-4.
For the year at Double-A, Dini finished with a .310 batting average, to go along with a .381 on-base percentage and a .761 OPS. In addition, he ending the season with two home runs, 25 RBIs, 17 walks, and eight stolen bases while being caught only twice. In 79 games behind the plate, Dini threw out 34 of 97 would-be base stealers en route to earning recognition on the Kansas City Royals MILB.com Organization All-Star list.
"My time at Double-A was incredible," Dini recalled. "It was a great group of guys to be around, especially since, at the time of my promotion, the team was in the middle of a playoff push." The native of Monroe Township, NJ went on to describe the atmosphere in the minors. "The games were intense and every game meant something. It was fun to be a part of something like that. I was fortunate to be managed by a former major league catcher in Vance Wilson. The ability to pick his brain about the everyday grind and the ins and outs of catching, as well being pushed as a ball player to get better, was an experience that I was fortunate to have as I learned so much."
This past fall, Dini was selected by the Royals to participate in the 26
th Arizona Fall League, where he was a member of the Surprise Saguaros. Dini was joined by RHP Jacob Bodner, RHP Zach Lovvorn, INF Nicky Lopez (11th-ranked prospect in the Royals system) and OF Oscar Mercado.
"He is the ultimate competitor. He loves to play the game, hard-nosed," Ronnie Richardson, the Royals director of Minor League Operations stated." "He gives you good at-bats, good idea of the strike zone, and doesn't chase."
For the fall, Dini appeared in 12 games, with six RBIs and produced eight hits, three of which came back on October 30 against the Peoria Javelinas. In the top of the six against Peoria, Dini delivered a go-ahead, two-out RBI single as he was able to beat out the throw from the Javelinas' third baseman.
"Getting the opportunity to represent the Royals organization in the Arizona Fall League was a tremendous experience," Dini said. "It was an eye-opening experience when you look up and see guys who are apart of Major League rosters and even highly-touted prospects, who are in the process of developing in cornerstone talent for their respective clubs. It was a humbling and rewarding experience and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity the Royals have given me."
Dini became Wagner's first-ever NEC Player of the Year while becoming just the second Seahawk to lead the conference in hitting (Jack Scholz) after he batted .400 during his final season on Grymes Hill. On May 9, 2015, in the first game of a doubleheader at Sacred Heart, Dini connected on a two-run home run over the left-field wall that propelled him to the No. 1 spot on Wagner's all-time career hits with 245.
"It is an adjustment to life in the minors as opposed to playing collegiate ball," Dini said. "Mostly, the adjustments were on the mental side. In college, you play four days a week, while in the pros, it's pretty much every day." Dini goes on to say that "You learn how to flush out the bad games and even the good games as that is something that I continue to work on because I know that you can't dwell or gloat because you have to get ready to repeat the process the following day."
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