Manager Carlos Mendoza has been shaking things up again to try and produce more runs. The most recent of which is Brandon Nimmo batting second instead of third in the lineup. This week’s Statistical Spotlight will re-feature Brandon Nimmo. We will look at his results in the third spot, and what he can focus on to improve his performance in the second slot.
Out of 89 plate appearances, Nimmo had 18 hits batting in the third spot, with one home run and five RBIs. He slashed .225/ .303/ .338 with an OPS of .641. What was also alarming was the fact that his strikeout rate went up, meaning he was not putting the ball into play. These numbers are not what you want to see out of your third hitter.
Brandon Nimmo. Photo by Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The move to third made sense at the time considering Nimmo showcased power with six home runs and 27 RBIs at the lead-off spot during the beginning of the year. However, after a valiant yet unproductive attempt, another change was in order.
Taking a look at Nimmo’s plate approach for the week of June 8 to June 14, we will be observing his launch angle. From the graph below, we can see that Nimmo was getting under a lot of his contacts. According to MLB.com, ground balls are typically balls that are hit 10 degrees and under, and pop-ups are a result of batted balls over 25 degrees.
Out of the 20 pitches Nimmo made contact with, nine of his contacts were pop-ups. Specifically, five of the contacts were above 40 degrees, with the highest being 51 degrees. From this data, we can conclude that Nimmo was undercutting the ball which was the reason why he produced so many pop-ups.
Nimmo has traditionally been a gap-to-gap hitter, spraying line drives that he can extend to extra-base hits, sprinkled with some power. Look for Nimmo to adjust his plate approach to his more natural line-drive swing. Putting him behind Francisco Lindor, who has been excelling in the lead-off spot, and in front of J.D. Martinez and Pete Alonso, will help Nimmo see more hittable pitches. This can increase his production at the plate, in particular his lower than normal season average, on base, and slugging statistics.
We have seen a result of that over the last two games. Combined, across Saturday and Sunday, Nimmo has gone 4-for-8 at the plate. Let’s see how Mendoza’s move continues to pan out for Nimmo’s production moving forward.
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