I was wrong - I admit it.
First of all, Thursday afternoon's game...
Tomas Nido had TWO HOMERS AND SIX RBI'S...Wilson Ramos was seen printing out his resume after the game.
Brandon Nimmo gets a double and - surprise, surprise - 2 walks.
Names starting with N and ending with O got it done:
Luis Nguillormeo had a great game.
Dom Nsmitho did too.
David Npetersono was awesome.
NO, I won't go any further with that - on now to my real article.
Brandon Nimmo is a Mets' starting outfielder, in case you haven't noticed.
When drafted in the first round, many of us (admit it) were bewildered - even ticked off.
WHOOPS, THEY DID IT AGAIN. HOW COULD THEY?
WELL, WE WERE WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
THEY ON THE OTHER HAND WERE RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
Per a 2011 article in NJ.COM (wow - 9 years ago), this was the thinking at the time:
The first draft pick of the Sandy Alderson Era was a memorable one. The team selected Nimmo... with the 13th pick in the First-Year Player Draft.
The selection came as a surprise, considering both Nimmo’s inexperience against major competition and the bevy of highly touted college pitchers available.
In the 1st round, Paul DePodesta, the team’s VP of scouting and player development, felt compelled to act. He noted a dearth of high-level hitters in the draft, and believed Nimmo possessed a mature plate approach and power potential.
“We weren’t that interested in making what we thought was the safest pick,” DePodesta said... “We were interested in making the pick that we thought had the chance to make the most impact.”
Is that OBP fluke, just a hot streak?
I like to see what a guy does over an extended, injury-free period...so let's look.
In mid-April 2019, Nimmo injured his neck, played injured and poorly thereafter, and eventually stopped and got shut down for over 3 months.
So, let's carve away the time he spent trying to play in great discomfort and disability, from that date in the second half of April until he was finally put on the IL.
What has he done in 2018, his first full year, plus 2019 (minus the injured period), plus 2020 so far? Numbers, please....
775 plate appearances (plenty of PAs to draw a clear picture)
618 official at bats
160 hits (.259). Well, .259 is not so good, right?
Well, he also walked 127 times and got hit by pitches 28 times.
So, his on base % over those 775 PAs?
.407.
THAT IS, TO BE CLEAR, FOUR OH SEVEN.
Last year, a .407 OBP would have been the 5th highest in the majors, just behind Anthony Rendon for 4th.
His career on base %..excluding his hits..is .185! Astounding.
Are you impressed? I am.
Did Sandy and Podesta get it right?
Uhh...YEAH!
He also, over those 775 PAs, scored 118 runs and had a hefty 37 doubles, 9 triples, and 28 HRs.
One heck of a pick, I'd say, that Brandon Nimmo.
A Sandy Dandy.
I felt otherwise for most of his minor league career, I have to admit.
But I was SO wrong. Yes, I admit it.
Brandon Nimmo, based on the numbers, is borderline GREAT...
AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT, BUDDY.
Speaking for myself, I love the hustle, the player, and positivity.
P.S. In our "Stark Contrast" segment, I noted that Nimmo has close to 3,500 pro plate appearances, as does Amed Rosario. Nimmo has 537 walks as a pro.
Rosario, however? 178 walks. Just 1/3 the amount of walks.
When it comes to walks, Rosario is the "anti-Nimmo."
Nimmo is an extreme walker. Rosario is an extreme non-walker.
9 comments:
Question: have you completely gotten over your initial beliefs that Nimmo would turn out to be mediocre, or even fail?
Tom
Morning.
I have grown to accept Nimmo. Even, like him out there. But he just isn't a capable centerfielder.
It isn't just the errors. He misjudges so many plays that caused balls to drop eventually turning into earner runs.
This team has too many middle infielders and left fielders. We need one of these moved for a legit CF that can hit as well as play + defense.
Mack, I thought last winter that Rosario could be a cornerstone. At this point, I would seriously consider moving him this off season for pitching. Are we really sure Rosario is better than Guillorme? I'm not any longer.
Tom
Gimenez has changed everything about the infield.
The Mets will play Cano. The contract demands it, but I still think a deal could be worked out with San Diego to move out there to play and mentor his God son.
His godson is Tatis Jr? If so, that I did not know.
Tom
Yes he is.
Mack, Guillorme is not as young as Gimenez, and I assume Gimenez has a higher ceiling - but Luis is really acquitting himself well. Seems like a somewhat slower version of Wally Backman to me.
Guillorme/Backman comp? I sure don't see that.
There's so much to like about Nimmo. He plays hard, never gives away an AB, cuts the bases, runs well, plays the game right in every respect.
Mack is right: He doesn't cut it as a CF. He's a LF with a rag arm. When he has a game like yesterday, he looks like a gem. Two hits and a walk. When the team struggles to score, to drive in runners, Nimmo's high walk count feels pretty useless. When he hits .240, even with all the walks, I find myself underwhelmed. A complementary player, and maybe the perfect 4th outfielder.
At same time, I wouldn't put it past him to raise his game a notch and put up strong numbers if placed in the corner and given a regular shot. What he did at the end of last season can't be ignored. I could imagine him going to Pittsburgh or San Francisco and having a very, very nice career. In CF, he's being asked to do something he really can't do. That's not his fault. I remain undecided and unconvinced, but I like so much about his attitude and approach.
When we talk about Nimmo, I always feel like a solid assessment of Conforto is part of the equation. That's a guy who puzzles me, too. Do the Mets have both two years from now?
Jimmy
Jimmy
I would stick with Conforto. In fact, I would offer him an attractive extension. We must have some stability somewhere out there and he plays a credible right.
I would go after George Springer stronly in the off-season.
Lastly, I would make McNeil my permanent left fielder.
Gimenez changes the whole infield equation.
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