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Arjun Nimmala in action at Nat Bailey.

Photo courtesy Mark Steffins

Arjun Nimmala in action at Nat Bailey.

Photo courtesy Mark Steffins

Top Blue Jays’ prospect thrills Vancouverites

By Joe Leary

Published 12:32 PDT, Fri May 23, 2025

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Throughout its rich baseball history, the Vancouver Canadians have had many future Major League superstars entertain the fans at Nat Bailey Stadium; affiliated with either the home or visiting team’s minor league systems.

Home to professional baseball since 1951, ‘The Nat’ boasts an impressive list of famous names to grace the diamond over the years; dating back to Brooks Robinson in 1959 and Tony La Russa in 1968. Among those that wore the C’s uniform was Sammy Sosa with the ‘Triple A’ Canadians in 1989/90. The Chicago Cubs and White Sox outfielder went on to become a seven-time MLB All-Star, the 1998 National League MVP and earned six Silver Slugger Awards.

Former Blue Jays’ players to take the field at Nat Bailey Stadium include pitchers Marcus Stroman, in the days of ‘Low A’ ball in 2012 and more recently Alek Manoah in 2019. Now, local baseball fans have another chance to see the future of the Toronto Blue Jays franchise in Arjun Nimmala.

The 19-year-old shortstop hails from Tampa, Florida and showcases a dynamic set of skills and athleticism, while similarly exhibiting the poise of a future star. To step onto the articulately manicured Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium was a real treat for Nimmala. “It’s cool, a real big-league stadium,” he says. “I had seen it on camera on social media and when I first stepped on it, I thought this is amazing. ‘It’s a legit field with legit fans.’”

And Arjun Nimmala is delighting those fans with legit play as his C’s career is off to a hot start. In 109 at bats (as of this writing), he’s hitting .275 with six homeruns and 13 RBI. Suffice to say, fans are witnessing the birth of an emerging star ball player. “Arjun has been as advertised and then some,” says Tyler Zickel, broadcasting and media relations manager, Vancouver Canadians. “To be just 19 years old with the weight of top prospect expectations and to handle himself with a maturity beyond his years speaks volumes about his character.

“His physical talents are remarkable, but it’s his ability to perform at his peak while successfully navigating everything off the field that makes him especially remarkable”. It’s a weighty task to be sure but this teen is extremely affable, grounded and poised to rise to the occasion.

And with Vancouver being steeped in rich, Indian culture, Nimmala seems prepared for the ride and all that it entails.

“When you walk around Vancouver you can definitely see that there’s a huge Indian population here,” he notes. “The people are nice and the food is amazing and I’m super proud to be representing Indian culture.”

“But for me it’s always been the baseball player first and my goal is to keep working at this day-by-day and always try to get better, on both offence and defense. Training with the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Florida during this season’s Spring Training was a real treat for the young infielder.

“I learned not to select the skill to completely attack—just to get better overall at the game. I believe I can do it and they do as well. Just being there every day and trusting my skills and doing what I can to help get wins for the team was what I focused on.” Though being so far away from home, he’s able to keep in touch with friends and family in Florida, online. “My dad and my mom are watching games every night—staying up until 2 a.m.” he adds.

When Arjun Nimmala was drafted 20th overall in the First Round of the 2023 MLB Draft, he knew that eventually playing within the Toronto Blue Jays organization would come with a certain degree of pressure. In his case, that pressure is threefold.

“When I initially got drafted that was one of the first things I thought about,” says Nimmala. “I’m not just playing for the US; I’m also playing for India and I’m playing for Canada”.

“The attention comes with doing what I do playing the game of baseball at the highest level,” he says, while humbly noting, “It’s a lot easier when you have this great group of people around you”.

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