Mets #2 prospect (according to MLB Pipeline) Brandon Nimmo was on MiLB.com’s podcast called the The Show Before the Show which was recorded yesterday. You can listen to the entire thing right here with the Nimmo portion starting at 26:12. The Mets drafted Nimmo 13th overall in the 2011 draft making him the highest pick ever from Wyoming.
Nimmo battled a knee injury and a facial injury that limited him to just 104 games and 434 plate appearances during the 2015 season. The outfielder didn’t take the step forward with the bat that most expected hitting .269/.362/.372 over three different levels but mostly with the Binghamton Mets.
He was an Eastern League All-Star and participated in the Futures Game in Cincinnati with former teammate Michael Conforto. Here are some tidbits from the interview in which he talked about being part of organization that is in the World Series and the complications of playing baseball in Wyoming:
- Praised Sandy Alderson for making the necessary deals at the deadline to put the Mets in the spot they are in.
- Proud to be part of such a great organization right now.
- Quote from his Dad on playing in Wyoming, “If you are good enough they will find you”.
- Cold weather, possible snow cancellations and long travel are part of the issues he faced to play American Legion ball. (Wyoming does have High School baseball due to similar problems).
- The lengthy travel to play when he was younger has helped him deal with it in the Minor Leagues.
- Was nicknamed “Tin Man” when he was younger because he wasn’t very flexible.
- Played basketball briefly in high school to stay active, said he wasn’t every good despite being able to dunk as a freshman.
- Also did indoor track in high school and was the state champion in the 400 meter dash
- Played football until he tore his ACL in September 2009.
- Traveled to Coors Field to watch Major League games as well as Rice and Nebraska to watch college baseball.
- Refined his hitting skills by lots of soft toss in a barn his Dad built.
When he was asked about the Mets in the World Series he said “I am both nervous and excited for those guys”. Also said “Playing with Conforto this year and seeing him in the World Series tells me I am close to be a big leaguer”.
Finally he said, “I know I have the talent to play in the big leagues at times, I just need to be more consistent”. Nimmo definitely does have the talent, he runs well, plays a good outfield and gets on base at a high clip. To become a big leaguer he needs to be more aggressive on pitches middle-in and improve his approach against lefty pitchers.
I think the timeline has moved for Nimmo. Seems like the idea was to have him as a solution for LF/CF with Conforto replacing Granderson. Obviously Conforto isn’t going anywhere. This gives Nimmo some time to fine tune in AAA while Grandy plays out the last two years of his deal. If all goes well maybe he platoons with Lagares in CF?
I think if we don’t sign Cespedes there is a good chance we see him platoon with Lagares next year. I think that platoon would actually work out pretty nicely.
I’m not in favor of going 6-7 yrs for Cespedes. But not sure Nimmo is the answer in 2016 either.
I wouldn’t give Cespedes more than 5 either and I would sign a lefty bat to platoon with Lagares in center like Rasmus.
Completely agree. Rasmus or Parra would actually be my preference. Shorter deals and in Rasmus case probably no QO. Whatever resources they do have this winter should be spent of veterans in supporting roles. I’d like them to bring back Blevins and Johnson. Add a LH CF as a bridge to Nimmo.