Reimold on a HR trot during Spring Training. Hopefully a sign of things to come.
The best Orioles position prospect not named Matt Wieters makes his major league debut tonight against the Royals in KC. Nolan Reimold has been one of the hottest hitters in all of the minor leagues so far this season batting .394 with 9 bombs and 27 RBIs sporting a ridiculous OPS of 1.228. Oh and AAA Norfolk plays in Harbor Park which is considered one of the best pitcher ballparks in the minors, so yeah, pretty impressive. I remember when Reimold (pronounced Rye-Mold) was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft out of Bowling Green and was thought of as an intriguing pick but possibly a reach that high in the draft. Well, he silenced the critics right away and has been considered one of the O’s top hitting prospects ever since. He’s struggled through some injuries setting his development back which is why he’s only making his debut now at age 25, but he’s never had an OPS lower than .834 in 5 minor league seasons and has been in and out of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects lists throughout his time in the minors. The O’s were probably hoping to keep him in AAA a little longer, but he forced their hand with those crazy stats (and the fact that in the past week 4 of the O’s 5 outfielders on the roster have gone down with injuries).
Nolan Reimold
The dude has power, a good arm and speed. I don’t see him being a superstar but if he can turn into a solid #6 or #7 hitter, that’d be pretty nice to go along with Adam Jones and Nick Markakis in the outfield. With the Felix Pie experiment likely coming to an end (although he did go 2-2 with a bomb last night replacing the injured Adam Jones) and Lou Montanez really not having the complete toolset that Reimold has, the LF job could be Reimold’s to lose…let’s hope he takes advantage of it, because Pie (pronounced Pee-Yay) and Montanez certainly haven’t. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him get sent down once Luke Scott, Jones, and Montanez all get healthy because the O’s would rather see Reimold playing everyday in Norfolk rather than platooning in LF in Baltimore, but if he puts up good numbers, it might be time to wave bye-bye to Mr. Pie (but most likely Montanez). It wouldn’t surprise me to see him struggle, but according to The Sun’s Roch Kubatko, the man just looks like a ball player and shows all the skills to be successful. That might not mean much, but it’s more that can be said about Pie. Go O’s.
A Round of Sound 