AUDIO: Eddie C's Mets Notebook — This Is A Big Year For Brandon Nimmo

By Ed Coleman
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Brandon Nimmo will not be breaking camp and heading north with the 2014 Mets come the end of March.  As a matter of fact, he might be heading to the minor-league side of camp shortly after the exhibition games get underway.  But this is a big year for Nimmo. He seems ready for it and hopes to stay healthy for the entire season after a wrist injury limited his production in 2013.

Nimmo was a somewhat surprising 13th-overall pick by the Mets back in 2011.  He played with the Savannah Sand Gnats in low Class A ball last year, and on April 17 was hitting .447.  He became a South Atlantic League All-Star and also went to the Futures Game at Citi Field  during the All-Star festivities in July.

The first thing you notice about Nimmo this spring is how he has filled out his frame.  He credits some serious offseason weight training and fitness.

Sometimes with added weight your quickness can suffer, but Nimmo feels he covered that as well.

Nimmo bruised his left hand severely in May, and it was something he had to fight through for the remainder of the season.  His batting average plummeted, as he hit just .228 after the injury through July.  But he did rebound to hit .354 during the month of August.  However, it was a tough lesson to endure at an early age.

Nimmo grew up in Wyoming -- one of only three states that does not have organized high-school baseball.  Nimmo played American Legion ball and burst upon the scene when he was named the MVP of the Under Armor All-America Game in Chicago his senior year of high school.  He would like nothing better than to eventually be a trailblazer for others like himself down the line.

Nimmo will not turn 21 until the end of spring training (March 27).  He ended his season with a .273 batting average with two home runs and 40 RBIs.  He had a very solid .397 OBP and an OPS of .756. I asked him if there was one thing in particular for this upcoming season that he felt he needed to improve on.

Nimmo will likely start the year at high Class A St. Lucie, and a good season for him will be to end the campaign at Double-A Binghamton.  The organization feels he's right where he should be at this point.

How does he feel about where he's at?

C U soon
Eddie C.

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