The Keepers - #6 - OF - Brandon Nimmo

6.                Brandon Nimmo  OF

6-2-11: - .perfectgame - With Nimmo in the same draft class as other uniquely-qualified high-school outfield standouts such as Bubba Starling (Kansas) and Ben Roberts (Montana), this has been an interesting spring for national scouts, and also for regional scouts who have those remote areas. Nimmo projects as a solid supplemental first-round pick, and should that happen, he would become the highest draft pick ever from Wyoming. Former University of Wyoming outfielder Bill Ewing has held that distinction since 1976, when he was the NCAA Division I home-run leader. Ewing was picked in the fourth round of that year’s draft by the California Angels. Despite his remote Wyoming upbringing, Nimmo is actually a very polished product for his age. With no formal high-school baseball in Wyoming, most of Nimmo’s exposure to the game has come while playing with Cheyenne’s Post 6 American Legion team, which has won consecutive state titles and nine of the last 10. Nimmo has led that team in hitting the last three years, and batted .448-15-84 with 35 stolen bases in 35 attempts in 2010 as Post 6 went 67-12 to set a program record for most wins in a season. Nimmo has had a couple of significant factors that have weighed in his favor from what might be expected of a Wyoming high-school product. His older brother, Bryce, was a three-year starter at Nebraska from 2006-2008, and had many similar tools, although he was only 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, so the Nimmo name was already familiar to many Midwest scouts. In addition, Nimmo made appearances on the national showcase circuit last summer, including the 2010 Tournament of Stars in North Carolina. Cheyenne Post 6 has also made numerous out-of-state trips to Sun Belt locations, thus giving scouts a far broader swath of games and at-bats to familiarize themselves with Nimmo than they have with either Starling or Roberts. What they’ve seen is a very talented all-around athlete with surprisingly-polished hitting skills from the left side. Nimmo has very advanced barrel skills, squares up pitches consistently and can drive them to the gaps. His easy stride and plus speed (Nimmo is a Wyoming indoor state track champion) result in numerous doubles and triples now that should evolve into home runs in the future as he fills out and gets stronger. His polish with the bat is the one thing that scouts have repeatedly remarked on this spring after seeing Nimmo. While the rest of Nimmo’s physical package doesn’t quite measure up to Starling’s, it is very solid and separates him from most other high-school center fielders in this draft. He’s a 6.5 runner in the 60, despite having had 2009 ACL surgery from a football injury. He also has solid-average to fringy-plus arm strength. Nimmo is a 4.0 student, to boot, with a scholarship offer to Arkansas, but with the type of attention he has been getting this spring from the scouting community, it look like professional baseball is in his immediate future.

6-6-11: - Nimmo lives in Wyoming, a state that has no high school baseball. If you ever have gone to Wyoming in April, you wouldn’t be wondering why. Instead, Nimmo hit in his backyard against a pitching machine. The interesting thing here is he’s listed as an outfielder, even though there is no outfield in Wyoming. Anyway, he always wanted to play baseball and signed up for the USA Baseball TOS last August. He went 2-4, with a triple, 2-runs scored, 2-RBI, and was named MVP for the American team. At this point, he still hadn’t been recruited by any college because how do you scout a kid hitting in their backyard (I’m not making this shit up, guys). I’m not sure how successful his high school career could have been because he had knee surgery in 2009 after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing wide receiver on the football team in September 2009. Thus, if there was a baseball team (again, there isn’t) there would have been no 2010 season anyway. Oh yeah, did I mention he has tendinitis in the same knee now? He did play American Legion ball in 2011 (.448, 84-RBI, 15-HR, 34-SB, 70-G) but not against any quality pitching. Reports from the Mets War Room tonight is they think they will have no problem signing him. You think? Observation: I have no idea what to say at this point. I said last year’s 2nd round pick, Cory Vaughn, sucked, and I was wrong about this. How do you give a grade to someone that doesn’t play baseball? And the picture won't even post on the site. Grade: INC

6-6-11: - David Rubin on Mack’s Mets: - Well, you HAVE to hand it to Paul DePodesta and the new Mets scouting/drafting regime- they certainly know how to ZAG when everyone else pegs them to ZIG!! Taking 18-year-old Wyoming OF Brandon Nimmo with their first pick in a draft laden with top-pitching talent is certainly, for lack of a better word, ballsy. He wasn't one of the top 5-ranked outfielders prior to the draft, mostly due to the fact that he was a high school kid who didn't play high school ball- NOT because he wouldn't, but because there IS no high school team where he is from in Wyoming!!! Noted draft expert, Jonathan Mayo, was excited because he feels the Mets are finally drafting for ceiling, and by all accounts, the sky is the limit with Nimmo. We've already heard comparisons to both Paul O'Neill and Andy Van Slyke- quite frankly, if there was a way to guarantee that, we'd ALL be ecstatic to see that kind of production in right-field or center at CitiField for the next 14 years. I truly hope this ends up being a pick that we don't regret, and the fact that pitchers like Matt Barnes were NOT drafted right after the Mets passed has to make you feel like the Mets are finally "in the know" this year...I mean, they HAVE to know something about this kid, right? Right??? Bueller??? Bueller???...

6-6-11: - Jack Flynn on Mack’s Mets: - The cynics are going to have a field day with this one.
The Mets took Brandon Nimmo with their first-round pick tonight (13th overall), and if you were scanning mock drafts for information about the Wyoming schoolboy you needed to look down at the players listed in the 30 to 40 range, where most experts were projecting him to be picked.  The question, of course, is a simple one - why? Why did the Mets take a toolsy high school outfielder with very limited amateur experience? Why did New York's scouting department consider him a mid-first round pick when media experts had him tabbed as a high supplemental pick?  The cynic will certainly have some theories. The cynic will tell you that Nimmo is signable, first and foremost, and that the Mets are simply continuing their trend of pinching pennies with their draft picks. Most big-market clubs have figured out how to game the first-year player draft - swoop in and grab the players that scared off the smaller-market teams that cannot or will not give in to their signing bonus demands. The Mets continue to be behind the curve in that respect, operating as though they played in the smallest market in baseball instead of the largest. Even though highly-rated outfielders like Josh Bell and Mike Mahtook were still on the board when they made their pick, past history and current financial concerns suggest that the Mets reacted like the rest of the minnows, swimming away from the larger bonus demands of the better bets. It's not going to cost the Mets a lot of money to get Nimmo into the farm system - and that's just how they wanted it. Nimmo's commitment to play college baseball at Arkansas reportedly predicated on whether or not a professional team offered him a signing bonus on par with a first-round pick. The Mets, clearly reaching for their man at #13, should easily overcome Nimmo's college commitment by simply offering slot money. It's frustrating and it's infuriating, but it's just a fact of life in the dying days of the Wilpon regime.Now, none of this is to say that Nimmo doesn't have the potential to succeed at the major league level. He is a tremendous risk, of course, but just about every high school player in the amateur draft is a risk. What's especially worrisome about Nimmo, however, is that lack of experience and a pre-existing knee condition from surgery two years ago. The knee injury was suffered playing high school football and is probably not as much of a concern, in the grand scheme of things. What is of greater concern is that Nimmo is from Wyoming and therefore has never played high school baseball. (Apparently, there is no high school baseball throughout the state of Wyoming, and as a result I am struggling to believe that Wyoming is located in the United States of America.) Scouts have had to use his American Legion experience and private workouts to draw their impressions. Nimmo is obviously raw, and it will be up to the Mets' development system to mold him into a professional player. Even if he rockets through their farm system, Nimmo is almost certainly at least four years away from being major-league ready. Mets fans would be better off going to sleep tonight not dreaming about the likes of Nimmo donning the orange and blue one day. It's way too far in the future and it's probably never going to happen anyway. Rather, they will be happier dreaming of the day when the Wilpons have been run out of town and a new ownership group will prioritize winning over slot recommendations. When that day finally comes, Mets fans will look back at first-round picks like Brandon Nimmo and wonder how they stood by their team through nights like this.

6-7-11: - http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2011/drafttracker.jsp - Comments: A high school player whose Wyoming high school has no baseball team, Nimmo put himself on the map over the summer, winning MVP honors at the Under Armour All-America Game at Wrigley Field. He's got a smooth, left-handed swing that allows him to consistently make hard contact. There should be plenty of power in his bat in the future as well. A good athlete who has played football and run track in the past, he's got decent speed when healthy -- he dealt with some knee tendinitis early this spring that was not a long-term concern. Nimmo has a solid throwing arm and has shown the ability to play all three outfield positions, though a corner is the most likely in the future. The most difficult thing for Nimmo has been getting seen this spring, but scouts likely have gotten enough of a feel for this outfielder, who has drawn comparisons to Paul O'Neill, to be drafted and signed away from his commitment to the University of Arkansas

6-14-11: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/6/14/2222649/2011-mlb-draft-new-york-mets-review#storyjump  - 1) Brandon Nimmo, OF, Wyoming HS: He'll want a lot of money to skip college ball at Arkansas, but I think it is worth it. He's got above average tools across the board, good plate discipline, and more polish than we have any right to expect given his background.

6-26-11: - The barn is bigger than the modest gray ranch house that sits in front of it on the six-acre plot of land. This is not just any barn, though. It doesn’t house horses, tractors or farm equipment. What’s stored in this structure is something different. Here lives a dream. No player from the state of Wyoming ever had been a first-round pick in the major league draft until the Mets selected outfielder Brandon Nimmo with the 13th selection earlier this month. The state boasts a population of just half a million. There are nearly as many antelopes in Wyoming as people. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/inside_barn_wyoming_prospects_mets_TtBDYqPiKHhLPvZoeGOPCK#ixzz1QNrqmyt3

8-21-11: - Stock Up – CF Brandon Nimmo – Well, you knew it was only a matter of time before we’d be writing about Nimmo’s first professional multi-hit games. He went 2-5 today for the GCL Mets, which raised him embryonic batting average to .273. It’s just great to have him in uniform and playing.

10-18-11 Keeps Update - #6  -  I’m personally still not sold on this mega-pick, but everybody says I’m wrong. Scouts tell me he has “Harper-like” projection… wouldn’t that be something…

10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects  - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects -  4.Brandon Nimmo, CF (Rookie League): His overall offensive upside remains a bit murky (mainly in the power department), while the quality of his tools and swing are readily apparent. I still believe that he will become a fantastic prospect once he concentrates on baseball year round, an environment that the baseball-less Wyoming high school system did not provide. Nimmo’s left-handed swing is great for his age, and he’s got the athleticism/speed to play a quality center field. He should hit for quality average and above-average power as a center fielder, possibly like a less-speedy Christian Yelich in time.

12-7-11: - http://baseballdraftreport.com – After consensus top two prep outfielders Bubba Starling and Josh Bell, East HS (WY) OF Brandon Nimmo stands alone as the draft’s third best young outfield prospect. Nimmo’s asencion to the upper half of the first round wasn’t always a forgone conclusion; it took almost the entire spring for the prep outfield picture to develop, as early favorites like Derek Fisher and Larry Greene slipped and late risers such as Granden Goetzman and Senquez Golson couldn’t quite reach the loftiest of draft heights. Nimmo was left standing as the clear third best prep outfielder for very good reason. For as much praise as his raw tools received leading up to the draft, Nimmo showed in his brief pro outing that he’s more than that. There have been equal amounts of plaudits for his present skills, most notably his far better than expected plate discipline. When you combine an advanced approach with his existing tools (most notably his arm, speed, and hit tool), it is easy to envision a potential above-average regular in right. I’m pretty good at separating draft stuff from personal rooting interests (five years of development time gives some perspective, I think), but the Phillies fan in me is annoyed to have to “root against” such a compelling prospect in Nimmo. My annoyance is doubled when I think back to last year’s draft when the Mets grabbed personal favorite Matt Harvey. Annoyance is tripled (and then some) with the realization that, for as much justified criticism as the Mets have received for their thrifty drafting ways of recent years, they managed to undo a good bit of recent damage with what I consider to be a pretty darn strong 2011 try. Nimmo, Phillip Evans, and maybe Brad Marquez all have the potential to be well above-average regulars, and New York’s balanced approach to adding arms in the first ten rounds or so (figure at least one of the college guys wind up a steady starting pitcher, as well as one of the two overslot prep righties). If New York winds up with either Nimmo/Marquez (starting OF) and Evans (starting 2B) offensively, and, going off my own pre-draft list, Logan Verrett and Christian Montgomery in a future rotation, they will have done quite well for themselves. [good athlete; above-average arm well suited for RF; above-average speed would work in CF; good approach; gifted natural hitter; gap power; 6-3, 185]

1-3-12 - http://mets360.com/?p=8885&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mets360%2Ffeed+%28Mets360+Feed%29  - 4. Brandon Nimmo, OF, Rookie ball, .211/.318/.368 in 44 PA - I don’t like ranking players with little to no professional experience. But it’s silly to pretend that Nimmo isn’t one of the club’s top prospects. It would not surprise me if he ended up being the most valuable player currently in the farm system. The strikeouts are certainly a concern from his brief pro debut. But he also hit 2 HR in 29 ABs in the Gulf Coast League, giving some indication of the power he possesses. By now you know that his high school did not have a baseball program, but Nimmo ran track and played football as a prepster, giving hints to his all-around athleticism. There’s talk he will skip the short-season New York-Penn League and open 2012 in full-season ball. If so, this time next year we’ll have 400+ ABs with which to properly evaluate Nimmo.

1-10-12 - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/  4. Brandon Nimmo, OF

 BORN: March 27, 1993

 EXPERIENCE: 1 season

 ACQUIRED: 2011 1st round (13th overall), Wyoming HS

 2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: NA

SCOUTING REPORT: Nimmo earned a paycheck of more than $2 million, which is impressive considered the lack of baseball opportunities he had in the state of Wyoming. He earned a following on the showcase circuit, though, and flashes above-average athleticism. Nimmo flashes five tools with his power and arm strength earning the lowest grades. He has speed, which he utilizes in the field, but it may be less useful on the base paths due to a slower first step.

YEAR IN REVIEW: Nimmo appeared in just 10 games after signing but he looked as advertised – explosive but very, very raw. He racked up 14 strikeouts in those 10 games but also banged out two home runs in seven rookie ball games.

YEAR AHEAD: The Wyoming native is the type of player that could definitely use one or two seasons in extended spring training. However, the organization has a history of pushing its top, young players so Nimmo could open the year in low-A ball. I wouldn’t recommend it. The club hasn’t had much recent success with its aggressive approach (Fernando Martinez, Wilmer Flores).

CAREER OUTLOOK: Nimmo could become something very special – and it would make a great story given his modest baseball beginnings – but real-life lessons have taught us that these players flame out more often than not. With that said, the young outfielder has four- or five-tool potential.

1-18-12 - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/01/prospect-pulse-the-2012-savannah-sand-gnats.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29  Brandon Nimmo (OF) – If Nimmo gets a look see in the long-season South Atlantic League, I doubt the Mets would throw him to the wolves right away. I could see them easing him in gradually as a fourth outfielder, to give him time to soak everything in. Remember this is the kid that didn’t play actual high school ball growing up in Wyoming, and he is brand new to professional baseball. He may even be left behind in extended ST. But if he does make the Sand Gnats, it would only be until the short-season leagues begin in June.