Brandon Nimmo's Been a Bright Spot Amid Mets' Early Storms
One-half of Flushing Smiles Co., Inc. proving he's more than just a "fourth outfielder"
There is little joy in Metsville these days.
Nearly four dozen men left on base and an underwhelming 2-3 record after five games that could’ve easily been 4-1 have Mets fans a bit salty. Strike that. Folks are straight-up anchovy-like.
Is this an early overreaction? Why yes. Yes, it is. Guys will come around. Panicking after five games is something other fans who may or may not root for that team across town do. Not us. We know better.
We’ve seen magical, Amazin’ things happen over the course of our fandom. We’d be silly to be concerned with sitting one game under .500 less than two weeks into April.
The roster is stacked. The starting pitching is there and this is only the Mets’ B-team back end. The bullpen will find its way. Shortcomings come out in the wash. They always do. Slumps turn to hot streaks. It’s the natural progression of things.
One guy who hasn’t been under this teamwide spell of dreariness is Brandon Nimmo. It’s just a shame his productivity has gone wasted with the Mets’ early struggles.
Through his first 23 plate appearances, the 28-year-old Wyoming product has gone 7-for-17 (.412 batting average) with six walks (.565 on-base percentage) and three doubles (.588 slugging percentage), striking out just four times.
Plenty to smile about there.
Nimmo is a patient-at-the-plate table-setter. He’s been this player throughout his career (his 141 wRC+ since 2018 is 12th in the majors over that span and just ahead of Ronald Acuna Jr.’s 140 wRC+) and he’s continuing to do so now.
This should come as no surprise. This is precisely why then-Mets GM Sandy Alderson drafted him 13th overall in 2011 despite Nimmo being relegated to American Legion baseball during his formative years, as Wyoming does not offer high school baseball.
The guy gets on base, serving as the ideal complement to this juggernaut of a Mets lineup. If he’s gonna be a doubles machine, as well, all the better.
Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith, and Michael Conforto are a collectively impressive core of offensive firepower, without even getting into the integral depth cogs and role players littered throughout the 26-man.
Brandon Nimmo is the spark plug and the fuel in this engine.
Heading into this season with an undue cloud of uncertainty over his head in centerfield, Nimmo has gone above and beyond this spring proving his worth as a starting-caliber major league outfielder — in the field, as well as at the plate.
The “fourth outfielder” narrative that’s followed Nimmo in recent years is unjust. His fielding has been above-average at all three outfield spots and his -4 outs above average in centerfield last season was his first negative season metric at the position.
Not to get too excited about his progress, but he’s already +1 OAA in centerfield this season. We’ll take that.
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