Brandon Nimmo has been the New York Mets best hitter from the start of the season when he posted a 1.051 in March/April and his current .897 OPS is by far the top number on the team.
So why the heck is he batting seventh and eighth?
Here’s where Nimmo has placed in the lineup over the last eight games:
- 8th: Three times
- 7th: Three times
- 6th: Once
- Bench: Once (Game-winning pinch hit homer)
During that same eight game stretch the Mets had scrap-heap 31-year-old Austin Jackson bat third three times and second on two occasions. Two other times Jackson hit sixth with Nimmo behind him both times.
Reminder that the Mets are 13 games under .500 in September and 13.5 games out of a playoff spot. Yet, they are guaranteeing a soon-to-be free agent that has a .664 OPS overall this season, more plate appearances than their best hitter.
Part of the Mets reasoning has been facing six left-handed starters during that stretch. Not sure why that is a good enough reason to bat Jackson ahead of Nimmo in a lost season.
What makes the Mets decisions making even more puzzling is that Jackson (obviously small sample size) has been horrible against lefties this season (.599 OPS) and even worse with the Mets (.473). On the flip side, 25-year-old Nimmo has a .755 OPS against lefties this season in 133 plate appearances.
While this might seem like a small issue in a season that has been filled with mistakes by Mets managment, the decision to have Jackson (and others) bat in the top of the lineup over Nimmo has cost Brandon five plate appearances in only eight games. Again, that may not seem like a lot, but it’s an unnecessary amount given the importance of the role Nimmo should be playing in the long-term for the Mets compared to Jackson.
Brandon Nimmo is a top of the order hitter, please start treating him as such on a daily basis Mets management.
