This was actually my full quote on Nimmo, so I discussed his drawbacks as well:
l.strether wrote:Nimmo, admittedly is a raw talent who struggled at AA last year. Scouts just can't get over his raw tools, though. You guys do also have, however, Micheal Conforto, who has a better hit tool than Nimmo, if not his athleticicm and skill set.
Players like Upton are pretty much why Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, and the rest of the "Moneyball" adherents value the "hit" tool twice as much as the rest of the tools. A player who can hit really well, but not do much else, is still a valuable and productive commodity. One who has the four other tools but can't hit, like B.J. Upton, won't get on base enough to produce much.
There have been plenty of the latter--such as Jeremy Hermida, Ruben Rivera, and Jeff Francoeur--who have had shoddy careers, if any at all. And there have been plenty of the former, such as Dave Magadan, who have had very successful ones. That being said, scouts still like Nimmo's hit tool, even though it hasn't shown itself at AA yet.