Nick Dini

BIOGRAPHY

Nick Dini was born July 27, 1993, in Monroe Township, New Jersey. He is a catcher in the MLB.

Dini was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 14th round of the 2015 MLB draft. After signing, Dini was assigned to the rookie-league Idaho Falls Chukars and hit .316 with four home runs and 29 RBIs in his first season of professional baseball. In 2016, Dini appeared in only 20 games with four different minor league teams due to injuries, batting .319 with nine RBIs. Dini began the 2017 season with the Class A Lexington Legends and was promoted to the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals hitting a combined .302 batting average with four home runs and 36 RBIs. He was selected by the Royals to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros following the end of the season. He started 2018 with Northwest Arkansas and was named a reserve to the Texas League All-Star Game, batting .239 in 80 games before being promoted to the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers for the rest of the season. He hit .333 with three home runs and six RBIs in 14 games with Omaha.

Dini was called up to the Major Leagues on August 7, 2019, after catcher Cam Gallagher sustained an injury. He made his big league debut that same night as a pinch hitter for Meibrys Viloria and remained in the game as a catcher. The next day, August 8, 2019, he made his first big league start at catcher against the Detroit Tigers and collecting his first career hit, a single off Matt Hall while going 1–3 with a walk and a run scored. On August 19, 2019, Dini hit his first major league home run off of Gabriel Ynoa at Camden Yards in a 5–4 win over the Orioles.