The struggles continued Brandon Nimmo at the plate in yesterday’s 3-2 loss to the Brewers. The slumping outfielder went 0-for-3, dropping his triple slash line down to .194/.320/.320 in 123 plate appearances this season and extended his hitless streak to 25 At-bats.
While Nimmo is known for his discipline and patience at the plate, Mets’ Manager Mickey Callaway believes that adopting a more aggressive approach could be the key that breaks Nimmo out of his funk. But Nimmo does not think that is the solution:
“I’m sure we’ll come up with a compromise on it,” Nimmo said. “I’m definitely not Vladimir Guerrero. I can’t swing outside the zone and be successful. It’s going to be me capitalizing on mistakes rather expanding the zone.” (Tim Britton, the Athletic)
Nimmo’s ability to punish pitchers for their mistakes last season led to an outstanding year at the dish. The former first round pick not only drew 80 walks and maintained a 404 OBP, but he hit for enough power to keep pitcher’s honest.
Nimmo swatted 17 home runs while posting a .483 slugging percentage and .886 OPS. His 149 wRC+ led the team, and it ranked 6th in the entire MLB.
Some regression from Nimmo should have been expected give that he posted a .351 BABIP and recorded a league leading total of 22 hit by pitches last season, but it is surprising to see him struggle this much.
A concerning trend for Nimmo this season has been his increase in strikeouts. His strikeout rate has risen from 26.2 percent in 2018 to 33.3 percent this season, the 6th highest rate among all qualified hitters.
Whatever the root cause Nimmo’s struggles might be, the Mets need him to figure it out quickly. The Mets’ offense has scored just seven runs over their past five games, so they are desperate for hitters like Nimmo produce.
