Marlins’ Nasim Nuñez Aims To Improve Hit Tool To Maximize Blazing Speed

Switch-hitting shortstop Nasim Nuñez—one of the fastest men in baseball—is making adjustments to his lefthanded swing.

“When I went to big league camp this year, (the Marlins) did some (mobility) measurements on me, and they said my hips on my left side are a little tight,” said Nuñez, 22. “I’m kind of closed when I hit. I’m working on opening up, giving my hips the freedom to do what they have to do.

“My righty swing is fluid. It’s weird when you have to make an adjustment on one side and not the other, but they are two completely different swings.

“Coaches have always told me that I can do better with my hips if I weren’t closed up, but the Marlins showed me with measurements that my body doesn’t like being in that position. It’s comfortable, but it’s not as efficient and effective.”

Nuñez is a natural righthanded hitter who took up switch-hitting at his suburban Atlanta high school.

“I had a really good freshman year playing on varsity,” Nuñez said. “Sophomore year, I saw a lot more curveballs and sliders, and I didn’t like those pitches starting behind me. I decided to become a switch-hitter.

“It was hard at first, and it still is. People think I can’t hit. But I hit from both sides, and I’m still learning. My goal is to hit line drives in the gaps.”

Nuñez tied for third in the minor league last year with 70 steals in 86 attempts in 123 games for High-A Beloit and Double-A Pensacola.

Nuñez also has elite defense and a strong arm, and he ranked 12th in the minors last season with 95 walks.

If he gets his swing down, Nuñez, a 2019 second-round pick, is perfectly positioned to take advantage of MLB’s new rules designed to emphasize speed and basestealing. 

“As an offensive player, it’s going to be hard to strike me out,” Nuñez said. “I’m going to be a pest when I’m hitting, and if you leave me a cookie I’m going to smack it.”