Blue Jays top prospect Arjun Nimmala focused on growth, consistency in Vancouver
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As the No. 1 prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays, he's been figuring out what it takes to be a professional athlete while playing shortstop for the team's High-A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians.
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As a 19-year-old living more than 5,000 kilometres away from his parents' home in Valrico, Fla., he's been figuring out how to take care of himself.
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'There was a little bit of an adjustment period, learning how to do things on my own,' Nimmala said with a smile.
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Cooking was one hurdle the teen had to overcome. In recent months, he's learned how to make a few staples, including fried rice.
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A more intangible hurdle has been learning how to stay locked in on the day-to-day amid a whirlwind of speculation and excitement about his future. Staying focused isn't easy, Nimmala said.
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'It's definitely hard. It's definitely something that you have to consistently make an effort for,' he said. 'You could definitely get lost in what people are saying, stats, all that stuff. And for an athlete, for a baseball player, those aren't the best things to be looking at.
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'The better I can stay focused on what I can do in the present, the better I'll be on the field as well.'
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Few Canadians players feel the glare of the spotlight the way Nimmala has this season.
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At No. 46 on the MLB's list of the 100 top prospects, it's not only the shortstop's performance on the field that has grabbed headlines, but his story.
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Nimmala's parents immigrated from India to the U.S. before he was born, and when Toronto picked the teen 20th overall at the 2023 draft, it marked the first time an MLB team selected a first-generation Indian player in the first round.
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'Going into it, I've always just tried to be the best player I can be and impact the team in the best way,' he said. 'But over time, my family and I, we've learned a lot of what it means to become the first or a trailblazer in some sort of way. For us, it's just making people proud while also getting better on the baseball field.'
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After spending last season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League, Nimmala has shown major potential since moving up to Vancouver this year.
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The six-foot-one, 170-pound athlete boasts a .232 batting average across 84 games, is tied for most runs on the team (55) and slots in at second for most home runs (11).
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June was a stellar month for the Canadians, who chalked up a franchise-record 11-straight wins, with Nimmala contributing big hits in several games, including Vancouver's 8-4 victory over the Spokane Indians on June 11 when he blasted a three-run homer into the bullpen.
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