Mitchell Ellis Nay (born September 20, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (58th overall) of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.
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Mitch Nay | |
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Free agent | |
Third baseman | |
Born: (1993-09-20) September 20, 1993 (age 28) Chandler, Arizona | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
Nay attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona.[1] He began his high school career as a shortstop, but became a third baseman due to the presence of teammate Jorge Flores.[2] As a junior, Nay had a .495 batting average, 14 home runs, and 54 runs batted in (RBI).[3] He won Arizona's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Award in 2012,[2] and received a scholarship to attend Arizona State University.[4] USA Baseball named Nay to their youth baseball team.[5]
The Toronto Blue Jays selected Nay in the supplemental first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, with the 58th overall selection.[5] He signed with Toronto, forgoing his scholarship.[2] He suffered a broken foot and did not make his professional debut until 2013. In 2013, Nay played for the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, where he had a .300 batting average in 64 games. He was promoted to the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League in time for their playoff chase. He was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the Northwest League playoffs by MiLB.com.[6]
Nay began the 2014 season with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League.[7] On August 19, while Nay was leading the Midwest League in doubles, the Blue Jays promoted him to the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.[8] In 120 games in Lansing, he batted .285 with 34 doubles, three home runs, and 59 RBI.[1] Nay played 11 games in Dunedin, batting .185 with one RBI.[1] On September 24, Nay was named the MVP for Lansing in 2014.[9] Nay played the entire 2015 season in Dunedin, and finished the season batting .243 with five home runs and 42 RBI in 109 games played.[1] Due to injuries, Nay appeared in just eight rehab games for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays in 2016, and batted .091.[1] In 2017, Nay returned to Lansing and spent the whole season there, posting a .222 batting average with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 61 games.[10]
On December 14, 2017, Nay was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.[11] Nay split the 2018 season between the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and the High-A Daytona Tortugas, slashing .267/.352/.405 in 132 games between the two teams. He became a free agent after the 2018 season,[12] but re-signed with the team on February 24, 2019. Nay split the season between the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and Triple-A Louisville Bats, hitting .278/.341/.504 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 114 total games.[13]
On December 13, 2019, Nay signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners and was assigned to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.[14] Nay did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] On May 28, 2020, Nay was released by the Mariners organization.[16]
On December 29, 2020, Nay signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels organization. Nay spent the 2021 season with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas, slashing .237/.347/.480 with 23 home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.[17]
Nay's grandfather, Lou Klimchock, is a former MLB player.[2][8]
2012 Major League Baseball draft first round selections | |
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Toronto Blue Jays first-round draft picks | |
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