Crest’s Nimmala focused on now, while preparing for future
By Brandon Wright, Features Writer
DOVER – Few people can relate to the pressure of becoming a potential high-round MLB Draft pick. From the minute that kid steps off the bus to the time he returns, every movement is scrutinized.
He looks a little sluggish today, right?
Does his swing look a bit loopy?
Was that grape or strawberry gum he just popped?
From the relevant to absurd, it’s all documented and poured over with a fine-tooth comb.
“I try to not think about it too much,” Strawberry Crest’s Arjun Nimmala said.
Good luck, kid.
The Chargers shortstop has been dealing with the eyeballs and spray charts for the better part of the summer, and the start of the 2023 high school season has brought little change. Scouts have descended on Chargers’ practices and games in droves to evaluate Perfect Game’s #3 overall high school prospect in the country.
Fortunately, Nimmala doesn’t have to look far on navigating the process.
“It’s hard not to notice all the radar guns and stopwatches,” Crest coach Eric Beattie said. “They’re everywhere he goes.”
And Beattie knows a thing or two about that. Beattie, who starred at Riverview before completing a Hall of Fame career at the University of Tampa, was selected in the second round of the 2004 MLB Draft by Detroit.
But talking about avoiding losing focus on the game and doing so are two different animals.
“Distractions are real,” Beattie said. “And it’s very easy to get distracted.”
For his part, Nimmala appears to gracefully hover above the potential pitfalls. Bright, articulate and thoughtful, the Crest senior comes across polished and more-than-capable of compartmentalizing the hazards that come with the territory.
“You can’t not notice (the scouts) and realize they are there to see you do everything,” Nimmala said. “But this is my senior year and something I’ve looked forward to for a long time. I love spending time with (my team) on and off the field.”
Beattie has been there throughout to lend his personal experience.
“We talk quite often about the process,” Beattie said. “The biggest thing is remembering why you play the game in the first place. It’s about never forgetting about how much you love to compete.”
Bloomingdale’s Kris Wilken, Nimmala’s summer ball coach in 2021, knows a thing or two about the process. Wilken spent five years in the Baltimore Orioles organization and has had a front row seat for Nimmala’s ascent to the top-rated high school shortstop prospect in the country.
“Arjun joined (The Ostingers) when he was 12 or 13 I think,” Wilken said. “He’s been extremely athletic his whole life. His bat speed is different. His arm is different. His hands are different.”
Beattie can count on one certainty when he walks out to the field to prepare the Chargers for a new week of practice – there will be rake marks around short and third where Nimmala and his brother Akhil have been working together on defense.
“Every Monday,” Beattie said.
Arjun Nimmala throws to brother Akhil at first in a game during the 2022 season.
Although the tools have always been eye-popping, Wilken noted it’s Nimmala’s dedication to cobbling those skills together that’s unlocked the safe.
“It’s hard work, really,” he said. “It’s been a steady progression to putting it all together. The natural talent was always there but he’s learned to make it all come together.”
Beattie said Nimmala’s profile as a potential high 1st-round MLB draft pick has blossomed through his ability to not just work hard, but do so with bullseye-like precision.
“He was always a kid who would always take extra grounders and extra swings in the cage,” Beattie said. “And he did that because he loved to. But now there’s a purpose. There is intent. He’s not going to go home until he feels he completed his objective.”
Draft prep has also included packing on 12 pounds of muscle in the offseason to fill out his 6-foot-1, 182-pound frame. Nimmala works closely with an Orlando-based nutritionist and trainer to eat “at least 2,500 calories a day.”
“I pretty much snack on healthy food all day long,” he said. “I eat a lot. As much as I can.”
Nimmala has gotten off to a torrid start. He blasted a grand slam in the Chargers’ preseason game and followed that up with another homer against King in the first week. Nimmala is currently hitting .611, with eight RBI, two homers and a triple.
“He’s taken this great talent given to him by God and translated that through repetition and work into a gifted player,” Beattie said. “He’s a rare breed.”
Nimmala is signed to play next year at Florida State but depending on when he’s drafted, it’s going to be hard to walk away from the impending dollar signs and the opportunity to begin a professional career.
“I can’t picture a world where he’s not a 1st-round pick,” Wilken said.
Until then, Nimmala will stay the course.
“I don’t want to try too hard and overproduce,” he said. “It’s just about working hard and enjoying my senior season with my team. I want to have fun with them and win games.”
