Justin Brian Nicolino (born November 22, 1991 in Orlando, FL) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Rakuten Monkeys.

Justin was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2010 amateur draft. He made his pro debut the following year with the Vancouver Canadians. With the Lansing Lugnuts in 2012, he went 10-4 with a 2.46 ERA and was a Midwest League All-Star. Following that season, he was dealt to the Miami Marlins as part of a twelve-player trade.

His first two seasons in the Marlins organization were both excellent, as he was named the Pitcher of the Year in both the Florida State League in 2013, and in the Southern League in 2014. He was 5-2, 2.23 in 18 starts for the Jupiter Hammerheads the first year, before moving on to the Jacksonville Suns to add a 3-2 mark and a 4.96 ERA in 9 games. In 2014, he was 14-4, 2.85 for Jacksonville.

Nicolino started the 2015 season with the New Orleans Zephyrs, then made his major league debut with the Marlins on June 20th in a start against the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched 7 innings of four-hit ball and was credited with a 5-0 win. His opponent that day was Anthony DeSclafani, who had been his roommate in the Marlins organization. He made 12 starts for the Marlins, going 5-4, 4.01 and pitching 74 innings. He started 2016 back in the minors, but once again had an excellent first game in the majors, this time on April 27th. He held the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless for 7 1/3 innings to earn credit for a 2-0 win.

Justin is a contact pitcher, pitching in the high 80s to low 90s with his fastball. He also throws a changeup and a curveball. Since 2014, Nicolino has averaged 4.8 strikeouts per 9 innings in the minors, while with the Marlins since 2015, he averaged 3.7 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Justin is on Twitter: @J_Nicolino22

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)