On March 28th, the RailCats signed RHP Nate Alexander, who is returning for his second season with the RailCats. Nate is 28 years old, from Lake Jackson, TX, and was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 24th round of the 2018 draft.

Last season, Nate was the main closer and was tied with Josh Smith for most games appeared in, and he led all bullpen pitchers in innings pitched at 50 innings. Nate is known for hard throwing and striking batters out in a nasty way, hence the nickname Nasty Nate! Alexander was also named to the American Association All-Star team for the East last season down in Kansas City. In that game, he pitched 1 inning, giving up 3 hits, 2 runs with a walk.

Over the winter, Nate was playing for the Caimanes of the Colombian Winter League, where he pitched 18.1 innings in 14 games. He had a record of 0-2 with an ERA of 3.44. He gave up 14 hits and 7 runs, walked 14 while striking out 26. His WHIP was 1.429, with a SO/W of 2.24.

Last season with the RailCats, Nate had a record of 3-8 with an ERA of 3.96. He pitched 50 innings in 47 games while finishing 40 of those games. He gave up 50 hits, 34 runs, 22 earned runs, allowed 2 home runs, issued 29 walks, and struck out 65. He had a WHIP of 1.580, H/9 of 9, HR/9 of 0.4, BB/9 of 5.2, SO/9 of 11.7, and SO/W of 2.24. He had 7 saves and 2 blown saves.

Now looking back at the 2024 season, Nate struggled coming out of the gate, giving up 4 runs and 3 earned runs in 2 games and lost the first 3 games he pitched in, but what I look at is the situation Nate was put in, and most of the time it wasn’t to close a game out. Out of the 47 games he pitched in, he only had 9 save opportunities. With most of the losses he was handed, there was a player error that extended the inning or he was coming into extra innings. In the 7 saves, Nate had, he pitched 7 innings, 1 run, 1 earned run, gave up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts.

Looking towards the 2025 season, to me Nate is the closer of the team, and if he is given more closing opportunities the team will win more games, but the lack of offense I believe overshadows Nate’s play. He was named to the All-Star team for a reason; yes, did it seem like he gave up more runs in the year? I would say yes, but it was the previous pitcher who put him in those situations that weren’t quote unquote high-leverage, which he thrives in. If the team has more of an offensive presence and Nate is used in the actual closing role, we can see Nate thrive in the 2025 season.

WELCOME BACK TO THE SOUTHSHORE!