Tom Nevers made 1st round, saw 13 seasons, AAA, coached

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https://www.tcdb.com/Person.cfm/pid/17534/Tom-Nevers

The Louisville Courier-Journal checked in on Louisville RiverBats veteran top picks in June 2000, among them former Astros first-round pick Tom Nevers.

By then, Nevers was in his 11th pro season, having started in 1990. The highest he'd gotten was AAA.

"The media and the fans can take it as, 'Oh, you're a first-rounder, you're going to be a star.,'" Nevers told The Courier-Journal then. "But there are no guarantees in this game."

Nevers went on to play in two more seasons. The former first rounder never made the majors.

Nevers' career began in 1990, taken by the Astros 21st overall out of Edina High School in Minnesota.

The Astros picked Nevers to play baseball as he also had hockey options. The Pittsburgh Penguins also selected Nevers in the fifth round of the 1989 NHL draft and he had a scholarship to the University of Minnesota.

Ahead of the 1989 NHL draft, Nevers spoke to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune about his options.

"I love baseball," Nevers told The Star-Tribune. "I like hitting and fielding. I could take ground balls and hit all day. But it's not the most exciting sport. It's not action-packed like hockey, which I like a lot, too, because you can make a mistake and do something quicker to make up for it."

Nevers ultimately chose pro baseball over college or hockey. He started with the Astros in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He hit .238 in 50 games.

He moved to single-A Asheville for 1991. He hit .251 there in 129 games. He then arrived at high-A Osceola for 1992. That May, his manager Sal Butera spoke to The Orlando Sentinel about Nevers' progress.

"I think he'll make a fine player at the major-league level once he finds out his strengths and weaknesses and takes advantage of them," Butera told The Sentinel.

Nevers stayed with the Astros into 1995, making AA Jackson over three seasons. He then moved to the Brewers system in mid-1995, then the Twins at AA Hardware City for 1996.

He got his first look at AAA with the Cardinals at Louisville in 1997.  He hit .234 in 71 games. 

He then saw AAA with the Angels in 1998, and the Reds in 2000 and 2001. He last played in 2002 at AA Chattanooga. He hit .313 that year in 216 games to end his career.

Nevers has since gone into instruction. In 2025 he continues as owner with Gene Larkin at Nevers Larkin Baseball. He also was named head baseball coach at his old high school Edina, a job he continues in 2025.

Tom Nevers 1991 Asheville Tourists baseball card


1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,510
Made the Majors:1,431-31.7%
Never Made Majors:3,079-68.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:581
10+ Seasons in the Minors:359-X

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