A Mack Interview with Brandon Nimmo and Jayce Boyd

pic by Christopher Gregory

I had an interview with Savannah Sand Gnats CF Brandon Nimmo and 1B Jayce Boyd. Both have gotten off to a great start so I can’t think of a better time to talk to both of them. I went on Twitter and asked my followers there if they had any questions for the two prospects and, yes they did.

All Mets followers know Nimmo, but it’s Boyd that has equally made the headlines this month here in the Coastal Empire. Going into Wednesday’s game, Nimmo was hitting .417 while Boyd was bopping at .545.

We met as a threesome in the dugout after 4:30pm batting practice. The first question I asked both of them was if either of them had ever ridden on the Cyclone at Coney Island when they spent time last year in Brooklyn. Both wimped out with a no J.

We had a good laugh over my reminding them on press day that you can’t hit in Grayson Stadium, but they know the humidity comes in June and everything changes then.

I asked Brandon if his baseball bats stats were 32-33 and he said no, they were 33.5-31.5. He also said he did not currently have a bat contract and it would take a lot to talk him out of using what he loves, bats from a company named Marucchi.

Brandon and I also talked about what he was working on the most after one year of affiliated ball. He said what he needs to do is get a lot more at bats, more experience, and he needs to face more left-handed pitchers.

I asked Jayce why in the hell did he fall to a 6^th round pick. He threw his hands up and said he had no idea (folks, this was a hitting machine out of FSU). He said no one tried to under-slot him and, in fact, no one called at all. Interesting.

Brandon said he had much difficulty getting used to the ‘daily grind’ in Brooklyn. I reminded him that everyone did, which he comments that, yeah, everyone has to get used to it.

I asked both of them if they were comfortable about the pace the Mets have with their career and both said they were. They said they leave these decisions to the powers to be and they just play baseball.

I then reminded Brandon that Kevin Kiernan of the New York Post told me that his personality was made for New York. He smiled but did say that he found the city fast paced and that did take some time getting used to.

I asked Jayce what he was working on during the season, or during the past off-season to help him get off to a better start this season. He did say he was disappointed in his Brooklyn year and spent considerable time in the off-season at the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida where he put on 16 pounds of solid muscle.

A fun moment was when I asked a dumb question generating a dumb answer. Q: How do you generate more power? A: Swing at the right pitch.

They both agreed that it simply is too early to determine the difference in competition at low-A and A-ball, but they do recognize that all the A-ball players haven’t survived at this level.

My last question was for Nimmo. I told him that I found him holding that bat just off his shoulder and I never thought it would come off. He laughed. I asked him that most write about his bat speed, but it seems to me that it was his follow-through or a combination of both that make his swing a sweet one. He sat back and thought about it and just said that his philosophy on hitting was also simple… ‘short to it, long through it’.

A great interview with two great guys.