New York Mets: Who is Brandon Nimmo

By Mike Calendrillo | Jul 2, 2016

Jul 1, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets right fielder Brandon Nimmo (9) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a three run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Mets may have finally found the spark they’ve been in need of, in the form of 23-year-old Brandon Nimmo from Wyoming.

Talk about making your presence known in a hurry! On Thursday night, in just his fifth career major league game since being called up from Triple-A Las Vegas, New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo provided a much-needed jolt to a stagnate Mets’ lineup.

Facing veteran relief pitcher Joel Peralta in the bottom of the 7th inning, with the Mets on the wrong side of a 3-1 score to the Chicago Cubs, Nimmo fought through seven tough pitches before lacing a line drive up the middle to score Travis d’Arnaud from second base. He then advanced to second himself, after the Cubs tried to throw out Alejandro De Aza at third.

A few moments later, Neil Walker bounced a chopper to the second baseman Javier Baez who fired wildly to third, allowing De Aza to score the tying run with Nimmo right behind him with the eventual go-ahead winning run.

After the comeback victory, Nimmo was all smiles while talking to the SportsNet New York: “This is just something that I dreamed about ever since I was a kid,” Nimmo said. “To be able to come through and help the team win, you always need it. Tonight was really, really big. To be able to help the team somehow and be able to come up here, it feels good to contribute. … I’m just ecstatic that it helped us kind of get going and then I was even more happy when I crossed the plate and gave us the lead.”

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Fast forward to Friday night’s contest, with Nimmo getting his second consecutive start due to Curtis Granderson‘s ailing calf. The 13th overall pick in 2011 draft (who was picked before the likes of Jose Fernandez and Sonny Gray), crushed a 442 Ft, three-run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning to extend the Mets’ lead over those same Cubs.

Nimmo, who’s moon shot was the longest by a Met this season, is making a case for manager Terry Collins to keep him firmly planted in the leadoff spot even when Granderson is deemed healthy enough to return.

Granderson is a fine player, but at 35 years of age, he could be in the last year of his contract if the rumors about a potential release in the offseason come to fruition. He’s batting a pedestrian .228 with 71 strikeouts. It’s clear to see he’s not exactly setting the table for the rest of the lineup to feast upon.

As for the 6’3″, 205 pound Nimmo, he’s had a bit of an up and down minor league career over the course of the last six seasons. A .276 hitter, with 30 HRs, and 198 RBI, he’s been graded as an average outfielder with decent closing speed, some of which was lost after a series of lower body injuries cost him a month of developmental time in 2015.

Regardless, Nimmo’s strong approach at the plate and gap-to-gap power still has him ranked as the Mets’ No. 6 prospect in their entire farm system, according to Baseball Prospectus.

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Only time will tell if Nimmo can keep up the recent heroics and be the lead-off man the Mets have so desperately needed. But at the very least, for past two sweltering summer nights in Queens, the kid from Wyoming certainly surely hasn’t disappointed.

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