Blue Jays sign first-round draft pick, shortstop Arjun Nimmala

Shortstop Arjun Nimmala has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 17-year-old prospect was the 20th overall pick of this year’s Major League Baseball draft.

Nimmala spent the past four seasons playing at Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Fla.

The six-foot-one, 170-pound Tampa native finished the 2023 season with 35 hits and 29 runs batted in across 25 games.

Nimmala hit .382 with 22 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs across 77 career games at the high school level.

He is the highest drafted Indian American in any of North America’s four major sports. No Indian American has ever played in an MLB game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2023.