“With Brandon Nimmo in right field, you think we need [Giancarlo] Stanton?”
What could have been taken as a joke when Sandy Anderson said this last offseason, is now something that is surprisingly true. Brandon Nimmo is a force to be reckoned with and someone the Mets can build around for many years to come.
No one really understood why Alderson wasn’t willing to move Nimmo last December. Stanton in orange and blue for Nimmo? Anyone in the world would have called that a done deal. Not Alderson. Now, the Mets GM looks like the smartest man in the world
More than once, Nimmo has been deemed the "happiest man in baseball." He sprints to first base of he walks or gets hit by the pitch and has never been seen without a smile. He wants to play the game the right way, and he does. He has had much success in his short time in the majors, and he is finally getting credit for his passion and dedication. The future is bright for the young outfielder.
The Numbers
Nimmo has been the Mets best offensive player all season. His success was quite subtle at first, but with Asdrubal Cabrera slumping as of late, Nimmo has taken every opportunity to rise to the top of the team. Even when he his playing time was limited, all he did was find a way to get himself on base. Recently, Nimmo has been rounding the bases more often than not as his power is really starting to shine through.
This season, the line on Nimmo looks like this: .287/.410/.603 paired with a more-than-respectable OPS of 1.013. He has hit 12 home runs, which has already matched his career high 11 home runs he hit the entire 2016 season and even cashed in an inside-the-park home run to leadoff the game on Monday night in Colorado. In that game, Nimmo had four hits and a career-high four RBI's. This was his third consecutive multi-hit game.
Nimmo's success has not happened by chance. the 25-year-old is incredibly hard working. For example, Nimmo slumped for a very short amount of time during the first third of the season. He was not happy with his performance, so he asked his hitting coach, Pat Roessler, to go in with him on their off day to work on his swing. He led off the next game with a home run.
Nimmo is making a real case at getting himself to D.C. for All-Star Game. No, he is not on the ballot, but there has been an outbreak of #WriteInNimmo campaigns all over social media. Even his teammates are in on the Nimmo hysteria as Dominic Smith and Noah Syndergaard have recently tweeted on behalf of Nimmo, his passion, and his success.
Is Nimmo the future?
It's incredible how quickly Nimmo's numbers have risen to those that are considered "elite.," and it doesn't seem to just be a fluke. Yes, this is the first time that Nimmo's numbers have been this outstanding, The Wyoming native is only 25-years-old, meaning he could be really good for a really long time.
In recent years, the Mets have been building around their once star-studded rotation of Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. Since the fab-five have never really lived up to their fullest potential (sans deGrom), and Matt Harvey isn't even a Met anymore, maybe it is time to build around a younger, more dependable body in Nimmo.
Teammate Michael Conforto is breaking out of the funk he was in for the first two months of the season, so it wouldn't be the craziest idea to start building the Mets back up around their young, talented outfielders.
Nimmo is young, and Nimmo is talented. It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world for Sandy Alderson and the Mets to put some thought into Nimmo becoming the future of this Mets team.
Is Nimmo's success sustainable? Let us know what you think in the comments!