While the Mets offense has not been very good over the past month, one bright spot in the lineup has been coming out of the leadoff spot in the lineup with Brandon Nimmo proving to be a spark for the team with a propensity for getting on base.
As a result, he has earned Mickey Callaway‘s trust to be the team’s leadoff hitter, which he intimated yesterday won’t be changing anytime soon, as detailed by Dan Martin of the New York Post.
“I think we need him to be our consistent leadoff hitter at this point. I think he’s got a good chance — even if he doesn’t get a hit — to get on base for us. [Nimmo] in that leadoff position consistently is what we need to do as much as possible.”
Callaway is 100% right about Nimmo in that regard. While Nimmo is only hitting .240 this season with two home runs and five RBI, he has managed an impressive .410 On-Base Percentage that is aided by his 17 walks that rank third on the team.
That has allowed Nimmo to score 15 runs, despite only having 78 at-bats.
Nimmo is also tied for the team lead in stolen bases with three on the year, and also leads the team in triples with three as well. While he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify, Nimmo’s .410 OBP would rank first on the team and would be tied for tenth in all of baseball with Odubel Herrera and Nick Markakis.
Callaway said his decision to keep Nimmo in the leadoff spot was decided before the Mets played the Marlins last night, opting to sit Jay Bruce against LHP Caleb Smith instead of Nimmo. The addition of veteran slugger Jose Bautista, had no bearing on the decision as Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.
While this situation could get murky upon the return of Yoenis Cespedes from the disabled list, the team will likely have ample time to evaluate Nimmo’s importance to the lineup before that happens.
