Nicholas Quinn Decolati (born August 12, 1997) is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent.

Niko Decolati
Free agent
Right fielder
Born: (1997-08-12) August 12, 1997 (age 27)
Boulder, Colorado
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Career

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Decolati was born in Boulder, Colorado, before moving to Las Vegas due to his father's job; he attended Cimarron-Memorial High School in Las Vegas.[1] As a junior in 2014, he batted .414 with eight home runs.[2] In 2015, his senior year, he hit .411 with ten home runs, 25 RBIs, and 39 runs, and was named the Southern Nevada Player of the Year.[3]

After graduating high school in 2015, Decolati enrolled at Loyola Marymount University where he played college baseball. As a freshman in 2016, he played in 47 games (making forty starts) in which he hit .306 with four home runs and 33 RBIs, earning a spot on the All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team.[4] In 2017, he played in 56 games, slashing .320/.426/.432 with four home runs and 24 RBIs. That summer, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was named a league all-star.[5][6] As a junior in 2018, he started 54 of 55 games and batted .271 with six home runs and 21 RBIs.[7] After his junior year, he was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the sixth round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[8]

Decolati signed with the Rockies and was assigned to the Grand Junction Rockies of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. After being a third baseman all through high school and college, the Rockies immediately moved him to right field.[9] He was named an All-Star.[10] Over 69 games in Grand Junction, he batted .327 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs.[11] In 2019, he missed time at the beginning of the year after suffering a broken wrist, but returned to play in June with the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League, hitting .265 with six home runs and 38 RBIs over 77 games.[12] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Decolati was assigned to the Spokane Indians of the High-A West for the 2021 season, slashing .264/.341/.402 with 11 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases over 100 games.[14] He spent the 2022 season with the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double-A Eastern League but missed time due to injury.[15] Over 44 games, he batted .199 with one home run and 17 RBIs.[16] He became a free agent after the 2024 season.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Niko Decolati dared to dream in the MLB, now it's his turn to give back". J500rst.ku.edu. March 23, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  2. ^ Kevin Askeland (2015-02-19). "2015 Nevada preseason baseball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard". MaxPreps. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  3. ^ Seiters, Damon (2015-05-20). "Cimarron-Memorial's Decolati named Southern Nevada player of year | Las Vegas Review-Journal". Reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  4. ^ "LMU Baseball Preview | Sports". laloyolan.com. 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  5. ^ "#24 Niko Decolati – Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  6. ^ Doherty, Matthew (2017-07-15). "Eight Firebirds named to All-Star team | Orleans Firebirds". Pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  7. ^ Newman, Kyle (2018-06-05). "Tracking the Rockies' selections in Rounds 3 through 10 of 2018 MLB Draft". Denverpost.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  8. ^ "Rockies Draft pick Niko Decolati from Colorado". Mlb.com. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  9. ^ ARNOLD, PATTI (August 11, 2018). "Up to the challenge". The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
  10. ^ ARNOLD, PATTI (August 2, 2018). "Five GJ Rockies selected to Pioneer League All-Star team". The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
  11. ^ Patti.Arnold@gjsentinel.com, PATTI ARNOLD (June 14, 2020). "Settling on GJ Rockies 'Dream Lineup' no easy task". The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
  12. ^ "Rockies' Niko Decolati: Off to hot start in Low-A". CBSSports.com. June 7, 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  13. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  14. ^ "Niko Decolati records three hits, three steals as Spokane Indians beat Tri-City 7–5 | the Spokesman-Review".
  15. ^ "Yard Goats hold of Rumble Ponies, 5–3". May 6, 2022.
  16. ^ "Niko Decolati Stats, Fantasy & News".
  17. ^ Eddy, Matt (November 6, 2024). "Minor League Free Agents 2024". Baseball America. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
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