Newly-Acquired Prospect Could Slide In At Third Or Short

The Los Angeles Angels revamped their farm system at the deadline, and one of their top prospect acquisitions is generating a tone of headlines. Arjun Nimmala   is becoming a well-known name for Angels fans, but there are questions about where he should play, assuming he continues to advance and shows out in whatever passes for spring training whenever the lockout ends. 

Nimmala played short in the minors, and he could challenge Zach Neto or be plugged in if the Angels decide to trade Neto before the lockout. But the Halos seem committed to Neto for the moment, and he’s a potential leader, although interim GM John Mozeliak did call Neto out privately for not husting shortly after he came on. 

The current question with Nimmala at short is his range. His defensive scouting report has him showing the arm strength to handle short or third, but it makes too much sense to play him at third given how badly Oswald Peraza slumped during the second half of the season. 

The situation at third is odd, to say the least. Peraza looked like the Angels’ long term answer at third, but he did nothing down the stretch, and at this point it’s an utter mystery as to why. 

Did he get poor coaching on his hitting approach? That remains a distinct possibility, as there were numerous reports from a player survey that said rookie hitting coach Brady Anderson wasn’t providing anywhere near the kind of direction the Angels’ young players needed. 

The argument against playing Nimmala at third is his age. He’s currently just 20, although he does turn 21 this week, and at this point he has no experience at Triple-A. The Angels might decide not to rush him, but that’s an important decision that will be part of whatever the new GM decides if and when Mozeliak steps aside. 

But Nimmala has power, and that’s something the Angels badly need after trading outfielder Jo Adell and catcher Logan O’Hoppe. The Angels fielded a Triple-A lineup after the deadline, and it showed, with holes up and down the lineup. 

Nimmala’s slash line was .263/.372/.492 across multiple minor league stops, with 16 homer in 89 games. No one knows what’s going to happen with the prospective salary cap, nor do we know who’s going to be running the show for Stan Kroenke and his sports group. What we do know is that Nimmala slots in well at the moment, and he’ll be carefully watched in the AFL in the coming weeks.