Brandon Pimentel isn’t one to sit on his hands and just let things happen.
A largely overlooked baseball prospect while playing at Socorro (Texas) High School, Pimentel opted to go the junior college route upon graduating in 2018, hoping he’d catch the eye of a major Division I program.
Three years later, Pimentel helped Mississippi State win its first national championship.
However, when Pimentel’s playing time with the Bulldogs dwindled, he realized he needed a change of scenery if he was going to realize his dream of playing professional baseball. So, after two years at the Southeastern Conference school, he transferred to Texas-Rio Grande Valley, a member of the Western Athletic Conference.
After two record-breaking seasons with the Vaqueros, Pimentel had rounded into a legitimate pro prospect at first base. And while he wasn’t one of the 614 players who heard their names called in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, the Washington Nationals signed him as an undrafted free agent just three days later.
Pimentel has rewarded the Nationals’ faith in him, showcasing an aggressive approach at the plate that’s helped position the Fredericksburg Nationals as a Carolina League postseason contender.
Through Sunday’s games, Pimentel leads the FredNats (55-41) in OPS (.711), AVG (.274), RBIs (65), hits (88) and doubles (16). He’s also hit six home runs, which is good for second on the club.
Pimentel said his philosophy at the plate is not unlike the one he’s used to guide his baseball career.
“I like to attack and be aggressive,” Pimentel said. “I don’t like sitting back and letting the pitcher attack me. … It’s you against the pitcher, and I’m trying to come out on top every time.”
FredNats hitting coach Mike Habas said Pimentel’s approach is ideal for a middle-of-the-order run producer.
“He doesn’t waste a lot of time up there,” Habas said, pointing out that Pimentel has walked just 16 times this season. “It’s all about opportunity with runners in scoring position, and we always preach putting the ball in play and trying to get it done as early as possible in those situations.
“He sees a pitch he likes, he puts a good swing on it, and he hits it hard. That approach has worked for him all season, and he’s been consistent with it.”
‘I was kind of a late bloomer’
After graduating from Socorro in 2018, Pimentel spent a year at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, attempting to improve his stock as a major collegiate prospect. He made the most of that opportunity, slashing .458/.515/.765/1.280 (average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging) with 14 homers and 70 RBIs on the way to earning JUCO All-American honors.
Pimentel’s breakout campaign drew the attention of a handful of major colleges. He ultimately chose Mississippi State over Arizona, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oregon, Washington State and in-state schools Texas and Texas Tech.
Pimentel appeared in 14 games for the Bulldogs as a freshman in 2020, posting a .184/.286/.265/.551 slash line with one home run and eight RBIs. He improved as a sophomore but played in just 10 contests as the team went 50-18 and topped perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt in the College World Series finals.
“Playing in the SEC was a crazy experience,” Pimentel said. “The fans are so passionate. We’d have 15,000 fans out there on the weekends. … It was incredible.”
While Pimentel soaked in the experience of life in the SEC, he knew that he needed more time on the field if he was going to catch the eye of pro scouts. So, as he’d done three years earlier when he opted to go the JUCO route before settling on a college destination, he decided to bet on himself again, saying goodbye to a national championship team in favor of a lesser-known outfit back home in Texas.
“The experience I gained at Mississippi State was invaluable,” Pimentel said. “I just needed more of an opportunity to show what I could do, and Texas-Rio Grande offered me that.”
Pimentel slashed .377/.427/.619/1.046 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs in 2022, appearing in all 58 of the Vaqueros’ games. He improved on those numbers the following year, going .402/.485/.710/1.195 with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs while playing in all 56 of UTRGV’s contests. That performance earned him first-team All-WAC honors.
“He was outstanding for our program,” Vaqueros head coach Derek Matlock said of Pimentel. “He’s a hitter that can handle both sides of the plate because he has a professional approach. He was a great mentor for our younger hitters.”
“I had a great time there,” said Pimentel, who finished his two-year run at UTRGV as the program’s all-time leader in homers (31) and AVG (.389). “I had great coaches around me, and it just boiled down to working on the details every day, going about my business and being able to do the work.”
Matlock noted that Pimentel’s dogged, consistent approach on the field and in the cage is what he believes made his former charge a legitimate pro prospect.
“He was a good hitter when he got here, but he got a lot better at swinging at strikes as time went on because of the work he put in,” Matlock said. “His plate recognition improved every year.”
Pimentel’s response to that?
“I was kind of a late bloomer,” he said.
‘He’s just a pro’
When the MLB draft concluded on July 11, 2023, Pimentel wasn’t particularly surprised that his name hadn’t been called. After all, the draft had been shortened to 20 rounds beginning in 2021, so it wasn’t uncommon for a prospect to go undrafted and then receive a contract offer soon afterward.
Pimentel believed that would be the case in his situation, but it didn’t make the process any easier.
“The call [from the Nationals] was either the day after the draft or two days after, but it seemed like forever,” he said. “Again, I wasn’t always considered a major prospect or anything like that, but I knew I’d put up pretty good numbers [at UTRGV], so I was just hoping to get a call and a chance.”
Pimentel signed with the Nationals on July 14, 2023 and reported to Florida shortly thereafter for his introduction to professional baseball. He immediately showed a proclivity for driving in runs, collecting 15 RBIs in 10 games at the Rookie-level Florida Complex League. He also slashed .371/.463/.629/1.092, helping set the stage for his promotion to Single-A Fredericksburg for the start of the 2024 season.
“Once I got to Florida, that’s when it became real,” Pimentel said. “It was like a huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders. I was grateful for the opportunity and just ready to play baseball.”
It didn’t take Pimentel long to make an impression on FredNats manager Jake Lowery.
“My first impression of him was that he controls the strike zone very well and drives in a ton of runs,” Lowery said. “It always seems like he’s coming up with guys on base, which is beautiful in the middle of the lineup for us.”
Pimentel took the Carolina League by storm in April, batting .351, posting a .993 OPS and recording a franchise-record 33 RBIs in 18 games. He was named Carolina League Player of the Month, and it was off to the races from there.
“He came out of the gate looking to do damage,” Lowery said. “And because of what he’s shown us and his consistency in his approach, he’s earned his spot in the middle of our order. He’s just a pro.”
While Pimentel has found fewer and fewer pitches to swing at early in the count as opposing pitchers have adjusted their strategy against him, he hasn’t considered wavering in his approach.
“I always remind myself that it’s a blessing to be here and do this every day,” he said. “I go out there to compete every single day, and consistency is the key to doing that. That’s what got me here.”
