When Sandy Alderson and company selected Brandon Nimmo with the Mets first round (13th overall) pick in the 2011 draft it was hardly a slam dunk.  This is because Nimmo’s home state, Wyoming, might have a higher population of endangered American Buffalo than high-school athletes. (Also… Wyoming is pretty cold).  Nimmo’s talents were only truly put on display with his play for an American Legion team.  So, seeing Nimmo begin to blossom in his first full season as a prospect has to feel good for Alderson who rolled the dice a little selecting him.

Physically, Nimmo is a big kid (6’3”) with a skinny build (185 Lbs).  He has a solid swing and good strong legs and this… has scouts a little confused.  Right now, some scouts see Nimmo as a speedy centerfielder who has a little power but survives on his legs.  Other scouts see him as a budding power outfielder who will bulk up and need to be moved to a corner.  The good news… No scouts think he’s not destined to be a fine “Major League” player.

This season did not start so wonderfully for Nimmo.  He didn’t hit the ball so much in the first bunch of games and was living at or below the Mendoza line.  Conversely his OBP was fantastic and he was one of only a handful of players with more walks than strikeouts.  Yet… he was hardly hitting enough to get fans to excited.  Thankfully, he’s managed to turn things around in a big way.

First the bad news:  His walks have taken a nose dive and his strikeouts are on the rise.  Now to the good:  Nimmo is currently hitting .264 for the season.  It should be noted that in all of June he hit .200 and in July he still struggled and wound up with a batting average of .270.  Thus far through 5 August games he’s hitting .368 but let’s look at some more interesting stats…

  • OPS: Brandon Nimmo’s OPS has not been below .732 in any month.  Because in June his walk-rate was SO high, he managed to still provide solid value in his at-bats.
  • SLG: When I look at this stat I like to look at the difference between one’s batting average and their SLG or OBP.  Nimmo’s SLG was .125 higher in June, .165 higher in July and .180 higher in this young month.
  • Speed: Nimmo, despite the reputation for speed that the scouts have attached to him, has not yet stolen a single base in 2012.  He was caught twice.
  • Clutch: My favorite split with Nimmo… his numbers go up with men on base and then up again with players in scoring position.

Nimmo would not be well served by a late season promotion to Savannah and might actually be well served by skipping Savannah for Port St. Lucie in 2013.  My biggest hope is that the Mets hold Nimmo in centerfield until he sizes himself out of the position.

Around The Minors:

AAA, Buffalo:

Mets Have A Righty Bat, Zach Lutz The man has an OPS of 1.398 in his last 10 games with 4 doubles and 4 homers.  He will be back up in Flushing this season and vying to earn a spot in 2013.

Say What You Will But, Chris Schwinden Has pitched beautifully for the Mets since returning to Buffalo.  He tossed a 6 inning game where he scattered 8 hits and didn’t give up a run on the 4th.

AA, Binghamton:

I Would Recommend The Soup, Eric Campbell Has been everything that Wilmer Flores, Jefry Marte and Reese Havens have not (This season in AA) CONSISTENT.  Campbell has been steady and his .879 OPS suggests he might play as a MLB bench player.

Waiting For Lefty, Adam Kolarek He’s had three innings in AA and thus far… pretty sweet.  He’s got 6 Ks with only 1 BB and 2 hits.  He still profiles as a LOOGY, but that’s fine.

A+, Port St. Lucie:

When Do We Get Excited About, T.J. Rivera He had a .882 OPS in Savannah before his promotion to Florida and now has a .750 OPS in the FSL.  In the last 10 games he’s managed a superior .923 OPS and he should be in Binghamton for 2013.

When Does He Hit Reality, Tyler Pill Pill is NOT supposed to be this good.  Sure he’s got control and can pitch his way through games but he’s destroying the FSL after destroying the SAL in the same year.  WOW!

A, Savannah:

The Wonders Of Patient Hitters, Camden Maron He might not be tearing the cover off the ball with every hit, but he’s getting hits and getting on base by walking.  When you do that you manage to still have excellent numbers.

All Things Considered, Domingo Tapia He pitched 7.1 innings and gave up only 3 hits and 0 walks with 5 strikeouts.  So the 3 Runs (2 Earned) don’t bother me too much.

Ummm… Really?, Alex Panteliodis He’s got 26 Ks over his last three starts.  Pants is not supposed to be a strikeout pitcher.

R, Brooklyn:

Time For Perspective – Luis Mateo, Gabriel Ynoa, Hansel Robles and Rainy Lara have a combined 24 BBs in 182.2 innings.  Jose Encarnacion has 36 BBs over 26.1 innings in the DSL.

Speaking Of, Rainy Lara – His most recent outing, 7 inings, 3 hits, 1 run, 0 BBs and 10 Ks… that’s pretty awesome.

R, Kingsport:

On His Way, Tomas Nido Camden Maron is still the Mets #1 catching prospect but Nido is establishing his stock fairly well in Kingsport.

R, DSL:

Banging The Drum For, Vicente Lupo You want to be excited about 2015 and beyond?  Vicente Lupo has been good at just about everything this season.  He’ll be in Brooklyn or higher for 2013.

11 comments on “Mets Minors: Brandon Nimmo beginning to look like a solid draft pick

  • Brian Joura

    At one point in the offseason, there was talk about Nimmo opening this year in full-season ball which I’m glad the Mets didn’t do. I’d like to see him finish 2012 strong in Brooklyn then open 2013 in Savannah.

    I know you don’t think there’s much difference between Brooklyn & Savannah but I’d rather make Nimmo earn the mid-season promotion to PSL.

    At the time, I wanted the Mets to take Mikie Mahtook when they selected Nimmo. But I’ve really come to appreciate the boldness of this move, which makes this year’s pick of Gavin Cecchini so frustrating. In a system virtually devoid of impact bats, the Mets need to focus on upside rather than polish with their highest pick.

    • David Groveman

      Brooklyn vs. Savannah is a big difference. I think that Savannah can be really hard on hitters who are trying to develop power. Given that Nimmo seems to be focusing on power vs. speed I would skip Savannah and send him to Port St. Lucie where he could join boppers like Vaughn and Rodriguez.

      The Mets don’t have “Hitter Friendly” parks in their system but none are more “Unfriendly” than Savannah.

      I don’t like judging a pick until the end of their first full year with the team. TECHNICALLY, Cecchini got that by signing quickly. My immediate opinion is that he has the potential to be an everyday SS and that is no bad thing. I would say that he tops out at being an Alexei Ramirez type SS but AGAIN… no bad thing.

      • Brian Joura

        I apologize for attributing an incorrect POV to you. I went back and re-read your earlier quote and you specifically said: “I don’t think Savannah is harder for pitchers than Brooklyn.” So I understand the hitter/pitcher distinction now.

        • David Groveman

          No worries

      • 7train

        I’m a big advocate of drafting for ceiling but it has to be realistic ceiling. Cecchini as a SS has slugged almost as well as Hawkins and Hawkins has 7 BB’s and 37 K’s. It is way too early to compare them as hitters, even though I just did that but that 5.5 – 1 K/BB in rookie ball can’t be looking to0 appetizing to Kenny Williams right now.

        To me Hawkins and Roache both fell a little closer to reckless then realistic. Strahan and Coulter were good solid choices and you still could have come back with Plaweicki at #35 but Cecchini looks to me like a successful position playing 1st round pick considering the draft’s strength was in pitching. You cannot make up for all the farm’s weaknesses in just a couple of drafts or you start reaching. The new rules kind of really changed things as well in ways that I didn’t even think of.

        Sabol and Boyd look like they can handle the bat and Rosario internationally swings a nice stick for a 16 year old. All together though Nimmo. Evans, Garcia, Nido, Cecchini, Plaweicki and Rosario all play up the middle and all have the ability to play well on both sides of the ball.

        That’s a start.

        As for Nimmo, I don’t care so much if he loses some HR’s to Grayson Stadium, he’ll benefit in nailing down his OF routes and I don’t want him being overwhelmed by college pitchers in their 2nd and 3rd year of pro ball in A+. He’s looking good but still very raw.

        • David Groveman

          The two weakest positions in the Met farm were SS and C.

          Gavin Cecchini looks like he has the glove to stick at short and could have the bat to make it to the bigs.

          Kevin Plawecki and Tomas Nido look like they will be competing with Camden Maron for the role as top organizational catching prospect.

          It was an okay draft.

          • 7train

            Agree. Not spectacular by any means but should certainly give us a good chance to have a decent team with some depth and competition down the road.

            I was a proponent of Swihart and Story in 2011 but how can you complain about Nimmo and Fulmer so far? A couple of really athletic RH hitting OFer’s would be a nice addition to the system next year as well as a top arm or two and I would love to be able to extract Swihart and Mahtook from Boston and Tampa if at all possible.

            It’s going to take time but at least there is talent being added and that is the most important thing at this point.

  • Mike Koehler

    Any buzz on LI’s own John Mincone?

    • David Groveman

      His stats are great, but no buzz that I’ve heard

      • Mike Koehler

        If he can continue to be this effective, I’d love to see him up as a LOOGY or late-inning reliever in Queens. How long do you think it takes for relievers to go through the farm system anyway?

  • steevy

    Meanwhile Jason Bay is in the lineup again!I’m beginning to hate the Mets management over this.Get rid of him!!

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