Since Brandon Nimmo was called-up on July 30th and became an everyday player, he has shown patience and a good eye at the plate.  In fact, he has led all Mets players in walks (25), and he is second on the team in OBP (.392).  These are the numbers you would like in a lead-off hitter, especially one that was a successful lead-off hitter in Triple-A.

However, the Mets don’t want Nimmo as their lead-off hitter right now.  They would rather have Nori Aoki hit lead-off.  For that matter, they would rather have Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera hit behind him.  Surprisingly, the Mets have no room for Nimmo in the top half of their lineup.

Instead, they would have Aoki lead-off.  Now, it’s quite understandable why the Mets would play Aoki.  There’s really no third Major League caliber otufielder on the team, and the Mets want to get a closer look at him with the team having a possible opening for a fourth or fifth outfielder on the 2018 roster.  Still, that does not mean he should be hitting lead-off.

We already know what he is as a lead-off hitter.  He has been fine in that role hitting .286/.354/.388 in his six year career.  He’s been successful enough in that role that he has played a vast majority of his games as a lead-off hitter.  Overall, it’s been well established he is a capable lead-off hitter.

The same cannot be said for Nimmo.  While we know he’s a great lead-off hitter in Triple-A, we don’t know that he is in the majors.  Sure, September is a small sample size, but it is still an opportunity.  It’s a wasted opportunity with the way the Mets are wasting.  It should be a surprise to no one as the team has wasted most of this season.