Former Gonzaga pitcher Nick Trogrlic-Iverson making moves in St. Louis Cardinals farm system
FRISCO, Texas – As it was for most baseball players, the 2020 college season was a weird one for Nick Trogrlic-Iverson. The righthanded pitcher made four starts for Gonzaga in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he was left to wonder what his future would hold.
The 2020 minor league season had been canceled and with the ‘20 MLB Amateur Draft shortened to just five rounds and held virtually due to the pandemic, the ex-Bulldog knew his chances of hearing his name called were slim.
However, things worked out perfectly for Trogrlic-Iverson, who appeared in 30 games (including 11 starts) in his two seasons as a Zag in 2019 and 2020. He signed a free-agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals in June 2020. Since the ’20 season was shelved, his pro debut didn’t come until 2021 with three appearances for Low Single-A West Palm Beach of the Florida State League. He finished his first year in pro ball with High-A Peoria of the Midwest League, where he was 4-4 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP in 31 appearances.
“I was a free agent signing after that COVID year. There was just so much uncertainty,” Trogrlic-Iverson said. “It was a five-round draft and I didn’t think I was going to go in the top five rounds. It was finding the right fit. The Cardinals called, and they’ve been known to have a good pitching development program. It was a good fit. It was definitely a little bit nerve-racking, especially with it technically being my senior year, but it was a good experience.”
Prior to arriving in Spokane in 2018, Trogrlic-Iverson spent two seasons at Central Arizona Junior College and was a 15th-round pick by Milwaukee in the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft. However, it was his two seasons at Gonzaga that showcased his versatility and gave him the confidence needed to play at the pro level.
“Yeah, it was awesome,” he said of his time at Gonzaga. “I did a bunch of different roles pitching-wise, reliever, closer, starter. It was a good time. I worked with some really good coaches. We played some really good teams with some really good players. Going to the playoffs was cool.
“I never got to make a regional sadly in the two years I was there, but just playing in the West Coast Conference Tournament was fun, getting to play against the best teams in that conference. It was great.”
Trogrlic-Iverson is getting his first taste of the Double-A Texas League this season with Springfield. He has a 1-1 record with a 4.82 ERA, a 1.71 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 20 appearances. One thing in particular has impressed Springfield pitching coach Eric Peterson about the 25-year-old righty.
“You know what you’re going to get out of Ivey. He’s going to throw strikes, fill up the strike zone,” Peterson said. “He does a great job of that and he’s got a lot of versatility, too. He’s come in for us with runners on base late in the game, if we need a few extra innings to bridge the gap.”
In 2021, Trogrlic-Iverson made 11 starts with Peoria but has exclusively come out of the bullpen since then. However, that doesn’t mean he’s completely shut the door on becoming a starter again or on making a spot start in the future.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do. I love going out there once a week and throwing for an extended period of time, but we’ll see what the Cardinals have in store,” he said. “That’s not something that’s necessarily up to me, but either way I’m just happy to have an opportunity. It’s been good so far.”
A major reason he signed with St. Louis is because of the organization’s stellar reputation for developing young arms by employing an approach which differs from the sport’s prevailing norms.
“There’s a lot of organizations really focused on velocity. Obviously, it’s great to have that, but that’s not one of their main goals,” Trogrlic-Iverson said. “Their goal is to develop pitchers. I’m just working on things that are in my control. I’m never going to be a 100-MPH guy. Just trying to be consistent with what I do have with my off-speed stuff and my fastball. They help us make those little tweaks to make us better.”
An added bonus of pitching in the Texas League this season is that he gets to see good friends and fellow Zags like Brett Harris, his roommate in junior college and at Gonzaga who is with Midland (an A’s affiliate), and Alek Jacob, who pitches for San Antonio (Padres).
“It’s awesome. AJ was one of my really good friends back at school and we still keep in touch. We play them at the end of the year if he’s still there and not in Triple-A by then,” Trogrlic-Iverson said. “He’s a really good guy, a really good pitcher and I’m just happy to play against guys I’ve seen before. We played them (Midland) a few weeks ago. Just seeing guys I haven’t seen in a while and playing against them again is really fun.”
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.