Paul Articulates – What’s next, Brandon?

Brandon Nimmo is just the kind of player that any team would want on their roster.  He’s a great baseball player of course, but there are many like that in MLB.  What stands out with Brandon is his continuous efforts to self-improve.  He has never been complacent about his success, and his drive to make himself a better player has brought tremendous rewards considering the 8 year, $162M contract he signed during the off-season.  My bet is that he does not stop there.  

When Nimmo signed with the Mets in 2011 as their first round pick, he began in lower, short-season ball where he hit an inconspicuous .211.  He worked hard in the off-season to improve his batting, and did better in 2012 with the Brooklyn Cyclones and Savannah Sand Gnats, hitting a combined .248.  As his career progressed through the minor league system, he continued to improve his knowledge of the game, leading to his promotion in 2016 to the New York Mets.  Nimmo played 32 games with the Mets that season, and 69 in the following year while seeing some down time with injuries.    As a center fielder, he was adequate.  As a hitter, he had good contact numbers but lacked power.  Nimmo went to work again, focusing on some tips for hitting with more power from former Mets hitting coach Kevin Long.  His power improved significantly, as he slugged over 50 points higher than his career average in the 2018 season.  

By the shortened 2020 season, Nimmo had improved his batting line to .280/.404/.484 which yielded a very impressive .888 OPS.  He was clearly a guy you wanted to see in the lineup every day.  But as a center fielder, he was considered an average defender who came in on balls very well, but did not track as well for balls over his head.  The Mets coaching staff moved him back to a deeper starting position to take advantage of his strengths coming in but that also led to more Texas leaguers.  Nimmo worked on his speed and ball reaction time, and by 2022 had significantly improved his ball tracking.  He posted a career best 6 Outs Above Average (OAA) that year, which was confirmed by the eye test when he leaped over the centerfield fence to rob Justin Turner of a home run in an early September game at Citi Field.  I would put that catch among the top plays of the year and it brought Mets fans to their feet in agreement.

So what’s next for Brandon?  He is always among the top Mets hitters for on-base percentage, has showed consistent power numbers since the 2018 epiphany, and now is recognized as one of the top center fielders in the game.  He ranked #4 in MLB.com’s list of top center fielders in a release last month.  My guess is that Nimmo works on his base running.   He has always been fast, but never stole many bases over his career.  He has had numerous problems with injuries, and since durability is key to helping the Mets win, he may have shied away from the high-contact event of stealing a base.  He has some great mentors on the team though as both Starling Marte and Francisco Lindor have had great success swiping bases over their careers.