Nick Dombkowski

NICK DOMBKOWSKI, LEFT HANDED PITCHER
Born: August 9, 1998
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 210
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
How Acquired: Non-drafted free agent, 2021
College: Hartford
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE
Dombkowski pitched for four years as a starter at Hartford.  He still had a year of eligibility left and was planning to go to Texas A&M, but signed with the Pirates instead.  Baseball America rated him 405th among draft prospects in 2020, but in a five-round draft he went unselected.  At the time, BA characterized him as an overachiever.  He throws an upper-80s to lower-90s fastball that plays up due to his command.  He has a very good change that misses a lot of bats, especially with right-handed hitters.  His slider also misses bats, again due to his command.  Dombkowski got consistently good results at Hartford, with a career ERA of 3.47 and WHIP of 1.17.  In 2021, those figures were 3.13 and 1.14, with 27 walks and 72 strikeouts in 67.1 IP.  Dombkowski also has a history of pitching very well in summer ball, particularly in the Cape Cod League.

2021
A:  1-0-2, 3.86 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 11.1 K/9

The Pirates sent Dombkowski to Bradenton in early August.  He pitched well in relief, missing bats and holding opponents to a .178 average.  The ERA is misleading; six of the eight earned runs he allowed came in one of his 11 outings.

2022
A:  1-0-0, 1.69 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 1.7 BB/9, 16.0 K/9
A+:  1-0-0, 1.76 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 12.9 K/9
AA:  3-1-1, 3.92 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 41.1 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 9.8 K/9

Dombkowski moved up through three levels.  He pitched only four times at Bradenton and ten at Greensboro, as he had little trouble at either level.  Altoona was more of a challenge, but his numbers were still good there, including the walk and K rates.  A meltdown in his last outing, when he gave up five earned runs and recorded only one out, inflated the AA numbers.  Left-handed batters managed only a .591 OPS against him, while right-handed batters didn’t do all that well, at .672.

Dombkowski could be interesting to follow.  He should reach Indianapolis at some point in 2023.
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2023: Minor league salary
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2021
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2027
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2024
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
July 16, 2021: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a non-drafted free agent.