Blue Jays’ Arjun Nimmala Is Always Up For A Challenge
As the Blue Jays debated where to assign Arjun Nimmala at the end of spring training, they weighed allowing him to cement last year’s gains in the stable weather at Low-A Dunedin.
Or should they challenge him in the damp April chill at High-A Vancouver?
But there was no debate for the 19-year-old shortstop who overcame some initial struggles after an aggressive assignment to Dunedin a year ago.
He wanted the push and got it.
“Challenge is always best, honestly. I love that we do that in our organization,” Nimmala said before the decision was made. “Last year, personally, I thought they made the right decision with Dunedin out of the gate.
“Of course, it was a little bit of a challenge, but that’s kind of the guy I am. I’m never one to back down, whether it’s offensive struggles, defense, anything. I’ll always take the challenge.”
Nimmala rewarded that decision through the first 25 games of the Northwest League season, batting .282/.362/.524 with six home runs and seven doubles, while cutting his strikeout rate from 31% in 2024 to 20%.
That extends the 2023 first-rounder’s upward trajectory since spending a month on the development list and in the Florida Complex League last spring. It’s the type of progression Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said “you just don’t see too often.”
“The intellect and his ability to use his brain to impact his baseball skills are the things that stand out to me,” he said.
Blue Jays director of position player development Eric Duncan said priorities for Nimmala include learning how his internal clock must adapt “at every level” and “what your angles (defensively) have to be off of that.”
“As you move up, the game does get faster, especially with certain players in each order,” Duncan said, adding that Nimmala is “a fierce competitor with high standards.
“To succeed every level you go up, the competitor in you needs to understand, ‘Hey, failure is going to come, but I’m not going to let it define who I am I a player and as a person.’ Arjun has that innately, and it’s pretty fun to watch.”
