#4
Brandon Nimmo, OF
Biography: Born March 27 1993 in Cheyenne Wyoming, Nimmo is the highest picked baseball prospect in the history of the state. That may well be because Wyoming is so cold that they didn’t offer a high school baseball program. Instead, Nimmo made his mark on the baseball world with an impressive display in the American Legion Baseball League. In 2010, he batted .448 with fifteen home runs and 34 stolen bases in 70 games.
Baseball America had only ranked Nimmo among the top fifty prospects for the 2011 draft (35th Overall). The Mets selected Nimmo with their thirteenth overall pick sighting Nimmo’s colossally high ceiling of talent.
Scouting: Nimmo was drafted with very little raw data and the Mets and scouts were never sure if he’d hold onto his plus speed or develop into a power hitter. Over the course of his time in the Met organization he’s had some ups and downs. Typically, his best tool is his eye. His OBP rates 100 points higher than his batting average. Meanwhile his power and speed have yet to manifest in a truly game changing way. While he still possesses plus speed and plus raw power he hasn’t managed much in the way of stolen bases or extra base hits. His best season, 2014 split between Port St. Lucie and Binghamton, saw him achieving his best results on both sides of that equation.
That being said, Nimmo may project as a 10/10 player and an elite leadoff hitter. It’s not the colossal ceiling that scouts had hoped for at one point, but it’s something the recent Mets have been sorely lacking.
2015: Nimmo had a number of stretches where injury had knocked him out of the lineup. In 2015 he only managed to play in 104 games. His most telling stat remains his OBP which was a whopping 129 points higher than his batting average. Sadly, his overall hitting numbers were expected to get a boost in Las Vegas and when they didn’t, some fans and scouts lost faith in his future. Look for Nimmo to return to AAA though if the Mets are merely looking for a platoon-mate for Juan Lagares, they could do worse.
Brian: “The buzz is just about gone from Sandy Alderson’s first draft choice but to me it was still a good pick. Not everyone with upside is going to hit it but if all you take are safe guys, you’ll never end up with a star while drafting in the middle tier. Hopefully he shows some more power this year.”
David: “Nimmo has a solid eye and makes good contact. He reminds me of Nick Markakis but unfortunately has shown even less power. I still want Nimmo in Las Vegas, where I want him to find a power stroke.”
Rob: “It’s starting to become clear what kind of player Nimmo will be, though it may not be the type of player folks hoped he’d turn into. Rather than a CF with some decent speed and pop, he’s looking more like a top of the order hitter and table setter. That’s just fine if he could stick in CF, but the fact that Wally Backman played him (slightly) more in the corners when he got the call to AAA is something to keep on eye on next year.”
James: “He has experience playing all three outfield positions in the minor leagues, but what will his role be on the big league ball club moving forward? His plate discipline should lead to success in the major leagues when he gets there.”
He has the power. Just has to be willing to alter mechanics to translate. His priority is OBP, that mindset has been drilled into him and has become his plate approach.
If Kevin Long can help him adjust his mindset that he can hit for power and OBP by tweaking mechanics and hunting pitches to drive as situational hitter, Nimmo has chance to be dangerous all around hitter and especially valuable as CF.
He’s not a burner but should be able to steal 15-20, and hit 15-20 homers when he matures into his game and understands how to become that player.
From your lips to God’s ears.
+1
We’ll heck, I’ll take that.
He has a Jacoby Ellsbury swing, some slap, lacking arm extension and good lower body rotation. That swing has developed to put ball in play but truncates power.
He just needs to learn that he can be Daniel Murphy with compact swing, high contact, who gets arm extension to drive the ball to all fields.
Kevin Long told Murphy he can hit for homer run power by altering his lower body mechanics and set up. It took a while but we saw the results.
No reason Nimmo can’t be same hitter but with far higher OBP, aided by much better speed.
Seems like 2016 will be a critical season for Nimmo. At some point in the very near future he needs to stop the process of becoming and actually become, if that makes any sense…
Big powerful kid that has not yet hit for power. I remember when Fonzie came up and you good see the power come incrementally over his first 3 years in the majors. I believe it was proper coaching that taught him how to turn on the ball once he became comfortable.
We may see that this year with a second tour of AAA for Nimmo. The telling sign is whether the Mets sign a platoon partner for Lagares to a one year deal, in the hope that Nimmo develops, or whether they sign someone to a longer deal. If it is the latter that tells us what the FO believes about his potential.
I don’t believe he’s a true CF.
Not mentioned anywhere here, but some analysts seriously doubt his ability to hit LHP — that is, be an effective regular. There are still reasons to be hopeful. But right now, today, the Mets are searching for a part-time CF who can hit RHP — and our #1 pick has not been deemed worthy. We shall see. The OBP is great.
Exactly what I was going to mention.
The very first clip I saw of him still sticks with me; Nimmo spraying the ball around the field — and then they put a lefthander on the mound, after which Nimmo barely makes any contact at all.
Lack of reps was the explanation, and with some justification. But when you haven’t seen a player do a certain thing, it’s a stretch to assume he will learn it. Here we are years later, and Nimmo still can’t hit lefthanders worth a damn.
He is a good athlete. Kirk Nieuwenhuis is a good athlete, too. They have different player profiles, but I suspect in days to come we will detect a similar career arc.
My hope has long been Shawn Green, after the shoulder injury. That might sound snarky, but pre-injury Green was a great power hitter. Nimmo not in that class, but few ever are.
Anybody who can see the ball well has a shot to be a useful player. Add in some power and speed potential, and it’s still way to early to give up on Nimmo. Maybe he’s not the centerfielder of our future, but he still can be a very good complimentary player. I think he has a reasonable shot to make an impact in NY in 2016.
Let’s give the kid a chance. 15 homers,15 stolen bases how many Mets did that last year?
Feels like we’ve talking anout this guy since the 90s
Hopefully Long can work with Nimmo extensively in ST and he takes that back to Vegas with him.
He was a project, his timeline should be longer. Lets, see what he does in ’16 assuming he can stay healthy.
Nimmo has always driven a High BB%…and a High K %. He needs to Drive more contact or more power. He’s certainly not “drifting”, but it would be nice to see him nail down his game early this season.
A LH Bat with decent legs and Glove…CF Surviveable?…. he’s a decent 4th OF, as a “Floor Projection”.