DURHAM, NC – St. Paul Saints lefty Cole Nelson has gotten a lot of attention from across the American Association lately and it seems that word of his quality pitching has spread down to Atlanta, GA. The Braves purchased Nelson’s contract and are expected to send him to Low-A.
The announcement of Nelson’s purchase comes just two days after he was named the American Association’s Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week. St. Paul’s left-handed starter earned that honor by pitching a complete-game shutout against Fargo-Moorhead, in which he gave up four hits and struck out eight. That outing helped him extend a scoreless innings streak, which eventually ended at 18.1 innings. Overall this season, Nelson is 2-2 with a 2.85 ERA.
Prior to joining St. Paul, Nelson pitched for four years in the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins organizations. He began at the Rookie level, but quickly moved up to High-A, where he spent the rest of 2010 through 2012.
Nelson was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 45th round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft. The Rays selected the lefty out of Des Moines Area Community College, but Nelson opted not to sign. Instead, he transferred to Auburn University and was drafted in the 10th round by Detroit the following year. The Braves purchased Nelson’s contract this afternoon. The left-handed pitcher is expected to report to the Braves’ South Atlantic League affiliate in Rome, GA.
Photo Courtesy of Emily Robertson/St. Paul Saints