Brandon Nimmo

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Brandon Tate Nimmo

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Biographical Information[edit]

Brandon Nimmo was a first-round pick in the 2011 amateur draft.

Nimmo was the first first-round pick ever from Wyoming, which does not have high school baseball. Brandon had honed his skills in American Legion ball (.569 in 2011 up to the draft) and in showcase events (MVP of one in August 2010 in Chicago, IL). He had a University of Arkansas commitment when the New York Mets chose Brandon with the 13th pick of the 2011 draft. He was the third outfielder taken, following fellow high schooler Bubba Starling and college's George Springer. He was signed by scout Jim Reeves for a reported $2.1 million.

Nimmo made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Mets before being promoted to the Kingsport Mets, hitting .211 with 2 home runs in 10 games between the two clubs. In 2012, he was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League where he played 69 games as the team's starting centerfielder. He .248/.372/.406, with 20 doubles and 6 homers. Moving to the Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League in 2013, he improved to .273/.397/.359 in 110 games. He only hit 16 doubles and 2 homers, but did have 6 triples and stole 10 bases. He was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League to start the 2014 season.

He first reached the major leagues with the Mets at the end of June in 2016 and went on to hit .274 in 32 games while shuttling between the minors and majors that year. He made it back to New York for a more extensive look in June of 2017, but after less than a month, on July 8th, he was placed on the disabled list by the Mets with a partially collapsed lung. It was not clear how he had suffered the unusual injury which was revealed when he complained of a shortness of breath after a few days of enduring the pain. He was hitting a scorching .350 at the time and only returned for one at-bat on July 30th and did not return to a starting job until the middle of August, by which time his batting average had fallen all the way to .235 as he had managed but a single hit since the injury. He did better once he regained a regular job and ended the year at .260 in 69 games, with 5 homers and 21 RBIs for an OPS+ of 115.

He had an excellent season in 2018 when he batted .263 in 140 games while playing all three outfield positions, slugging 28 doubles, 8 triples and 17 homers, scoring 77 runs and driving in 47 for an OPS+ of 148. He also led the National League in being hit by pitch with 22. It looked like he had found a regular job with the team, but 2019 was again marred by injuries, as he was limited to 69 games of hitting .221 with 8 homers and 29 RBIs. because of an OBP of .375, he still had an OPS+ of 111 and in 2020 followed that with a nice season as the regular centerfielder for the Mets. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was shortened to 60 games, so he could not put up big numbers, but he batted .280 in 55 games, with an OBP of .404 with 8 homers and 33 runs scored, his OPS+ going back to 145. But as had been the pattern for most of his major league career, he followed that with an injury-plagued campaign in 2021, limiting him to 92 games. His .292 average when he was able to play was the highest of his career, his OBP was again above .400 and his OPS+ at 131, so he was a very useful player when he was able to take the field, although few people realized this given his inability to put up big numbers in some of the glamour statistics.

In 2022, the Mets emerged from the doldrums by winning 101 games, finishing tied for first-place in the NL East with the Atlanta Braves after leading the division for most of the season. Nimmo was a big contributor, with a career-high 151 games, usually as the starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter, and batting .274 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs. He led the NL with 7 triples and scored 102 runs, 4th most in the league, and drew 71 walks. His OPS+ was 130 - exactly his career average up to that point. The Mets lost the tiebreaker with the Braves for the division title, so they had to play the Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, which was Brandon's first postseason experience. He went 4 for 12 with a triple in the three games during which the Mets were upset by the Padres and suffered a disappointing early exit from the postseason. He became a free agent after the season and was pursued by a number of teams, which forced the Mets to open their pocketbooks to keep him on board. On December 10th, they re-signed him to an eight-year deal worth $162 million.

Source: USA Today article on Nimmo

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • NL Triples Leader (2022)
  • 20-Home Runs Seasons: 1 (2023)
  • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (2022)

Further Reading[edit]

  • David Adler: "Sharp eye, approach bolster Nimmo's value: Mets reportedly would prefer not to trade young outfielder", mlb.com, January 21, 2018. [1]
  • Anthony DiComo: "Nimmo staying with Mets, signs 8-year deal", mlb.com, December 10, 2022. [2]
  • Anthony Rieber: "Anatomy of the 2011 draft: Finding Nimmo", Newsday, September 9, 2017. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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