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Born: Shreveport, Louisiana
Age: 22 (01/06/97)
Height/Weight: 6’1”/200 lbs.
Position: RHP
Bats/Throws: R/R
School: Northwestern State (Natchitoches, Louisiana)
Nathan Jones was a three-time letterman at Loyola College Prep High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. In his senior year there, he won All-District, All-City, and All-State honors, hitting .309 and posting a 2.76 ERA in 66 innings pitched, striking out 80. He received a last minute offer to attend Northwestern State University that summer, initially intending on heading to Louisiana State University Shreveport, and headed to become a Devil instead.
In his first year there, he tied the team lead in appearances, with 21, and led the team with 5 saves, earning the closer role early in the season. All in all, he posted a 3.10 ERA in 40.2 innings, allowing 28 hits, walking 12, and striking out 21. In 2017, his sophomore year, Jones was transitioned into the starting rotation, spending most of the season as Northwestern’s Friday night starter. He posted a 4.86 ERA in 83.0 innings pitched, a team high. He allowed 82 hits, walked 31, and struck out 50, also a team high. In 2018, his 16 starts tied for team lead, while his 103.0 innings pitched rank ninth most in school history in a single season. Moved from being the Friday starter to the Sunday starter midway through the year, he posted a 3.84 ERA, allowing 112 hits, walking 25, and striking out 72. After going undrafted in his junior year, Jones returned to Northwestern for his senior year. Appearing in 14 games for the Devils, he posted a 2.78 ERA in 81.0 innings, allowing 60 hits, walking 25, and striking out 80.
Jones throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, with a big leg kick that helps impart deception in his pitches. His fastball sits in the low-90s, topping out as high as 94 MPH. In addition, he throws a fringe-to-average curve that sits in the mid-70s and a fringe changeup that sits in the high-70s. A hard worker, Jones is considered mature, and is able to get past adversity quickly.