Mets’ Nido Takes New Approach
NEW YORK—Catcher Tomas Nido had always wanted to play for Florida State, but when the Mets drafted him in the eighth round in 2012 and offered him a $250,000 bonus, he passed on college baseball.
“It was tough because Florida State was always my top school, before I even committed to go there . . . I had some friends who were going there,” said Nido, who grew up in Puerto Rico but attended high school in Maitland, Fla.
“At the end of the day, I wanted to go play baseball, and I felt like (signing was) going to be the right move in the long run for me to grow as a player.”
Nido made the low Class A South Atlantic League all-star team in 2015, and the 22-year-old continued his success early in 2016. He hit .305/.333/.390 through 16 games at high Class A St. Lucie, striking out just five times.
“With two strikes, I’m trying to let the ball travel deeper and stay focused on hitting the ball up the middle and the other way a little more,” Nido said, “instead of trying to pull or try to swing too hard.”
Nido played high school ball at Orangewood Christian, initially living with the family of teammate Vince Conde. When Conde graduated in 2011, Nido’s mother moved to the Orlando area, while his sisters stayed behind in Puerto Rico.
“It’s pretty different in Puerto Rico, where high school baseball was more (something) you played on the weekends,” Nido said.
Despite the quick start with the bat, Nido also has solid catching skills.
“I think my strength is throwing people out,” said Nido, who had retired 34 percent of Florida State League basestealers, “but I think I’ve gotten a lot better with my game-calling. I’m trying to do my best to get the pitcher through those six or seven innings and to minimize the damage with the runs.
“I do my best to study the hitters beforehand, and along with the pitching coach, I get help and we go into the game with a plan.”
METAMORPHOSES
• Low Class A Columbia third baseman David Thompson opened the season with an 11-game hitting streak and a South Atlantic League-leading 23 RBIs through 20 games.
• Columbia drew 9,077 spectators for the first-ever game at Spirit Communications Park. It marked the first SAL game in Columbia, S.C., since 2004.
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