Nasim Nuñez

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Nasim Emmanuel Nuñez

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Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Nasim Nuñez won the Larry Doby Award as the MVP of the 2023 Futures Game.

He was drafted by the Miami Marlins in the second round of the 2019 amateur draft out of a high school in Georgia even though he was born in the Bronx, NY. He began his pro career shortly after being drafted, splitting the year between the GCL Marlins and the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League, but was a bit of a disappointment as his combined slash line in 51 games was .200/.327/.238. He then sat out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, he improved slightly while playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads in what was called the Low-A Southeast that season only, hitting .243/.366/.265 in 52 games. He obviously had excellent on-base skills, but unless he could learn to hit the ball a bit harder, he was unlikely to succeed. That improvement began in 2022 when he improved to .251/.384/.317 in 123 games, scoring 75 runs and stealing 70 bases between the Beloit Sky Carp of the Midwest League and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Southern League. Back at Pensacola at the start of 2023, he continued to display outstanding on-base skills and speed in the first half, even if his power remained limited. However, he was still named to play in the Futures Game on July 8th at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA. For a player who had always struggled to amass extra-base hits, he went against type in the game, hitting a bases-loaded double off Yosver Zulueta in the 6th inning, to turn a 2-0 lead into a comfortable 5-0 margin, which would be the final score. He then stole third base after his big hit.

In December, 2023 Nuñez was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2023 Rule V Draft. He made the team out of spring training in 2024 and made his major league debut on March 30th as a pinch-runner for Joey Meneses in the 9th inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He stole second base, then came around to score the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario as the Nats scored three runs in the inning to win the game, 7-6. As is often the case for Rule V draftees, his first season included a whole lot of watching from the bench and little actual playing time, as on May 20th, he had played in just 12 games, including 7 as a pinch-runner; he was 0 for 6 at the plate, but had scored 5 runs and stolen 2 bases. Which is why he was very surprised on May 18th when, warming up before a game at Fenway Park, he was sought out by Dominican singing star El Alfa, who was at the game as a guest of the Boston Red Sox that day, who wanted to meet him. The singer, who is a huge baseball fan, knew about Nasim's tremendous speed and his Dominican heritage, while the player is a big rap fan. He ended up appearing in 51 games that first season, batting .246 but with an OBP of .370, the result of collecting 12 walks in addition to 15 hits in 78 plate appearances. He scored 14 runs and stole 8 bases in 10 attempts.

With his Rule V obligations completed, the Nationals were able to send Nasim to the minors in 2025 so that he could receive more playing time. In 63 games for the AAA Rochester Red Wings, he batted .254 with 2 homers and 29 RBIs, scoring 37 runs and stealing 36 bases in 42 attempts. In the majors that year, he appeared in 39 games and hit .232 with 4 homers and 13 RBIs. he also scored 13 runs and was successful on 9 of 10 steal attempts. His OPS+ was 97. In 2026, he started the season in Washington, as the starting second baseman for the Nats. After 34 games on May 6th, he was batting .217 and slugging just .245, but he was also leading the National League with 14 steals (against just 2 times caught stealing). He was drawing enough walks to give him an acceptable .320 OBP and was tied for fourth on the team in runs scored.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jessica Camerato: "Nuñez, music star share mutual admiration", mlb.com, May 19, 2024. [1]
  • Jessica Camerato: "It's not a fable, it's Nats speedster Nuñez and his ironic pet", mlb.com, May 6, 2026. [2]
  • Mark Feinsand: "Nuñez soaks it all in en route to Futures Game MVP", mlb.com, July 9, 2023. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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