Arjun Nimmala

Arjun Nimmala

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Strawberry Crest High School

• Born October 16, 2005 in Tampa, FL USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Shortstop Arjun Nimmala was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 20th pick of the 2023 amateur draft, out of a high school in Florida. At just 17, he was one of the youngest players taken in the draft's first round, which was dominated by college players.

Nimmala received an unusually large amount of coverage prior to the draft because of his Indian origins - something very rare in baseball circles. His father had arrived in the U.S. in 2001, and his mother one year later. MLB was clearly hoping that success on his part would help increase the popularity of the sport among a large population that is mainly interested in cricket - which was in fact the first sport that he had played before switching to baseball. It was also fortuitous that he was drafted by Toronto, given that the Canadian metropolis had one of the largest Indian populations in all of North America. Arjun was also the first player to be drafted from his high school, Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, FL. He had a commitment to go to Florida State University, which may explain that he fell below his expected draft slot, although the Blue Jays were unlikely to let financial considerations get in the way of signing him given they did not have another pick until the 89th selection of the draft. In fact, the Blue Jays signed him on July 17th.

He made his professional debut with the FCL Blue Jays in 2023, hitting .200 in 9 games. In 2024, the Blue Jays decided to challenge him by having start the year with the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Class A Florida State League, where he was one of the youngest players in the circuit. Things did not go well at first, as he hit just .167 in his first 29 games, with 43 strikeouts. He was sent back to the team's training complex to work on certain things, then played 8 games back in the Florida Complex League before returning to Dunedin where he hit a lot better, showing some good power with a total of 16 homers in 82 games, with a .232 average and 46 RBIs. Defensively, he played shortstop full time.

Further Reading

• Thomas Hall: "Blue Jays select SS Arjun Nimmala 20th overall in 2023 MLB Draft", Yahoo! Sports Canada, July 9, 2033. [1]
• Keegan Matheson: "Blue Jays draft 17-year-old shortstop Nimmala with No. 20 pick", mlb.com, July 9, 2023. [2]
• Keegan Matheson: "Blue Jays impressed by Nimmala's development", mlb.com, September 12, 2024. [3]
• Jonathan Mayo: "Chasing MLB dream, Nimmala looks to break mold with Indian heritage", mlb.com, July 6, 2023. [4]
• Sweeny Murti: "Nimmala's Draft journey an inspiration for Indian Americans like me", mlb.com, July 9, 2023. [5]

Related Sites

• Perfect Game profile