"WE GOT ANOTHER TOP 5 GUY?"
"WHO KNEW?"
We here at Macks' Mets all know that Brandon Nimmo is just a miserable CF (just awful - does he even own a glove?? LOL).
Of course, he needs to be moved from that position - pronto.
The Pope, a big Mets fan, says it's settled dogma. "No Nimmo!"
Funny, tho', MLB.com just posted a contrarian article entitled:
"MLB's top CF Right Now? You'll never guess"
They listed the top 10. Trout # 1, Bellinger # 2, Springer # 3.
Guess who they had at # 5 out of 30 teams (if ya don't already know)?
Brandon Nimmo.
Surely it was a typo, and they must have thought he was 5th WORST.
But nope, #5 - the great Brandon Nimmo is 5th best - out of 30 teams.
Their brief logic?
"The Mets’ Brandon Nimmo made the biggest jump over last year, going from #9 to #5 after posting 1.8 Baseball-Reference WAR in 55 games."
The writers clearly look at a guy's total impact - not just defense - so Nimmo's CF defense may be sub par, but the total package allows them to rank Nimmo ahead of the CFs of 25 other teams.
Nimmo played 55 games last year, pretty much 1/3 of a season. Multiply, then, by 3 and you get:
99 runs, 24 doubles and HRs, 9 triples, 54 RBIs, 99 walks, 18 HBP, 273 times on base, and just 3 GIDP in 675 projected PAs.
Obviously, the runs scored would have been higher if certain Mets batting strugglers with low RISP in 2020 did better.
All of the above to say: sure, we wish Nimmo could field CF like defensive-wizard-when-not-injured Juan Lagares. But if Nimmo is still in CF in 2021, defensive warts and all, he is top 5. I didn't say it - they did.
And surprisingly, you would think in his career that he'd have made a ton of OF errors. Nope - just 6 in 319 games.
Me? We've upgraded defense at SS - and I'd love upgraded CF defense, too - but total player package?
I could live with Nimmo out there. I do, though, want a Springer.
Thankfully this article is coming out before we sign George Springer - I would hate to have wasted 20 minutes of my life doing this for nothing :)
Of course, I'm not saying we'll sign King George Springer.
But 25 other teams probably wish they had # 5 for CF.
They said it because its true. I love all you experts who cant actually quantify the defensive numbers but repeat them, verbatim, as if you invented the metrics. Appreciate what you have in this guy.
ReplyDeleteRichard, Nimmo has the fifth best OBP of active players in the majors.
ReplyDeleteThe Nets just got James Harden - lousy defense, too, but the dude can SCORE. What does he provide NET? For the Nets, it just made them the odds-on favorites in the East.
This is what im saying. Look, he has to stay healthy but the guy produces when on the field. Here is my question to the never Nimmo crowd. If a player is a 4.5 or 5 WAR and a negative 5 DRS what does that net? I dont really know and neither does anyone else because the analytics are not an exact metric and we dont even know which data they use! Additionally, one is wins the other runs so...
DeleteMy eyes tell me that i say, great job Nimmo, a lot more than I say, bad job Nimmo. His on base and OPS far outweigh any defensive liabilities. You want him in LF? Fine as long as hes in the lineup
My understanding is WAR is an overall encapsulation of the player’s positive value including defense.
ReplyDeleteI love Nimmo's offense and have said so many times. He's vastly underrated.
ReplyDeleteBut he's not a good centerfielder.
Player evaluations can come from a team context or, say, from an MLB context.
For the discussions here, we are looking this particular Mets team, all the players on the roster.
The Mets were a bad, bad, bad defensive team last year. Hopefully the DH comes through and we won't have to see Dominick Smith floundering around in LF like a fish out of water.
The Mets won't be able to address all their defensive deficiencies in one season, but strong up the middle is important.
I like Nimmo in LF. That switch would improve 2/3 of the outfield defense. He's a very valuable offensive contributor.
Jimmy
It's a negotiation between owners and the player's union, the CBA. The players want to DH. So if owners give them that, they want something back (expanded playoffs, for example).
ReplyDeleteTo me, as a fan, I've never been a purist. When the NBA installed the shot clock in 1954, you didn't hear me screaming. Sure, we all terribly missed the stalling and 19-18 nail-biters, but sometimes you've got to move on.
I'd rather watch Dom Smith take ABs than Cookie.
Jimmy
Agreed. 100%
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of evaluating Nimmo as a CFer has been overlooked: as presently constituted, the Mets do not have a Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, or even Kevin McReynolds in LF. Whether it's JDD, Smith, McNeil, or anyone else on our current roster, there is added workload on the CFer to in effect cover two positions.
ReplyDeleteWith a stellar LFer who has good speed, it's easier to go with Nimmo in CF. As much as I and most others love his batting skills, the extra load further diminishes his value in CF.