Nick Cimillo contact data puts him in rare company
Nick Cimillo, a 16th round pick, put up some interesting contact rates in 2024
Expectations aren’t generally high for day three draft picks, especially college seniors. Nick Cimillo was selected in the 16th round out of Rutgers, originally as a catcher, and played in a few games to close the year out before playing the majority of 2023 in Low-A with Bradenton.
He struggled in the 19 games he played in Greensboro before beginning 2024 on the Development List. Not the best track as far as development goes.
Once he came off the list, he mashed hit way out of Cimillo after hitting 17 home runs in 52 games while also walking and making consistent contact.
The power didn’t completely translate in Altoona, and he posted a 102 wRC+, but the walks and contact continued at a higher level.
Cimillo is an interesting prospect. On the one hand, there are plenty of underlying metrics that point to him as a legitimate prospect. But then he was 24 years old playing in High-A/Double-A and will age up before the start of the minor league season in 2025. He’s also a below-average defender at first, putting even more pressure on the bat.
The underlying traits have him in rare company, however. Only four players in all of minor league baseball had the following:
300 plate appearances
20+ home runs
10 BB% or better
10% SwStr or lower
40% or better fly ball rate
Kyle Manzardo
Carlos Perez (33 y/o)
Nick Cimillo
Jose Rojas (31 y/o)
Manzardo was one of the best first-base prospects in the game before graduating to the majors. The other two are 30+-year-old players with limited major league experience and long careers in the minors.
If you take home runs out of the picture, a few notable prospects enter the conversation: Ethan Salas, Luke Keaschall, Dylan Beavers, Mac Horvath, and Manzardo.
Salas is one of the better-catching prospects in the game, and Keaschll, Beavers, and Horvath were all selected in the top two rounds of their respective draft (Manzardo, too).
That puts Cimillo into some rare company, which begs the question—does that make him a legitimate prospect? If not, what would catapult him into that status?
He has the contact data. Flashing some more power in Altoona would be ideal, and if he does, he could push his way to Indianapolis.
The Pirates don’t have many power-hitting prospects in the system, so getting someone like Cimillo to take that next step into relevancy would be huge for their development team.
It’s a steep hill to climb for someone who is already on the older end, but the underlying data he’s put together is impressive nonetheless.
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Horowitz was 27 with one year in the majors. Similar trajectory is possible for this prospect if he continues to develop
Good stuff AM. I’ll log his name in my mind and watch for his results.