It feels like Brandon Nimmo‘s hamstring injury settled into our memories as simply a side note, falling into the background of David Wright‘s send-off and the conclusion of the New York Mets’ 2018 season.
Nimmo described the pain he felt on Saturday night to Joe Trezza of MLB.com, as “a little bit what I would imagine a knife going into the back of the hamstring would feel like”. Luckily, the severity of the injury was not all that considerable — it was just a strain.
Thankfully, neither the Mets or their 25-year-old dynamo have to concern themselves with any surgeries or major rehabs. All they need to focus on is improving on an epitome of a breakout season for the Wyoming native.
Pegged as a fourth outfielder, Nimmo spent the first three games of the season with Triple-A Las Vegas. Clearly, that was a misjudgment by the Mets scouting department.
Nimmo finished the year ranking second in the National League in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) with 149, fourth in the league with his .385 weighted on-base average (wOBA), and sixth in both BABIP (.351) and walk percentage (15.0), respectively.
While his .263 batting average doesn’t exactly jump off of the page, his .404 on-base percentage and .483 slugging percentage sure do. He led the Mets with his 150 OPS+. What a season.
If you delve a little deeper into his splits, you’ll see just how effective Nimmo was in 2018, especially at the top of the Mets batting order.
Hitting leadoff seems to come naturally to Brandon Nimmo. In 297 plate appearances at the top of the order, he slashed .266/.387/.504 with eleven homers, 14 doubles, six triples, and 28 RBI.
His .289/.484/.489 slash line in the six-hole is awfully impressive, as is his combined 9-for-24 in the eighth and ninth spots, but his bat and his sharp eye for the strike zone make Nimmo a practical shoe-in for the top spot in 2019.
Amed Rosario‘s pitch recognition and patience at the plate just aren’t refined enough to justify sticking him in that spot. His encouragingly outstanding hitting in the second half combined with his speed and ability to swipe a bag would give the idea of hitting him leadoff some credence if Nimmo wasn’t here. He is though, and there’s no reason to mess with a good thing.
Rosario performed very well in the eighth spot this year, slashing .260/.333/.425 in 82 plate appearances. In 173 appearances in the nine-hole, he hit .262/.287/.409. His .268/.301/.390 line in the leadoff spot is fine and well, although his OBP is just not there yet.
But Mickey Callaway can cross that bridge when he comes to it. If Nimmo misses time, then he has a viable (and extremely exciting) replacement. But as long as these two are healthy, Brandon Nimmo atop the Mets batting order and Amed Rosario sitting down at the bottom gives this team a scary dynamic for opposing pitchers to maneuver around.
Did I mention that they were both tied for the team lead in triples this season with eight apiece? Oh, and Jeff McNeil, looking to be a clear-cut option for the two-hole in 2019, was second with six. Food for thought.
