Reimold heating up?

[Jenius]

I haven't reviewed every post on this thread and I know I'm in the minority here, but I can hardly say with a clear mind that Reimold is going to make a major impact on the Orioles or that his season to this point is anything overly impressive.

His numbers last year in Bowie:

50 games, 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 34 RBIs, .306/.365/.930

His numbers this year in Bowie:

51 games, 12 doubles, 6 home runs, 22 RBIs, .277/.373/.841

Granted, his K:BB ratio is vastly improved and it can be argued they are pitching around him, but for a 24-year-old prospect, I would hope to see him duplicate the power numbers from last year if we want to believe he's a future 5-hole hitter in the bigs. Remember, last year in Bowie, Rhadames Liz was 24 and was absolutely dominant. Now he's working his way through Norfolk with ups and downs after getting blown up in Baltimore. Many now consider him a reliever.

I'd be very surprised if Reimold ends up being anything more than a journeyman career fifth outfielder.

It sounds like you are reacting to one extreme view (Reimold will be an impact bat for the Os soon...and BTW, I don't know where you got the impression that most ppl think this) by taking the opposite extreme ("journeyman career fifth outfielder"). The answer is almost certainly somewhere in the middle. Tony's comp. of Gary Roenicke may turn out to be right...that doesn't excite me but it's certainly better than what you've envisioned.

Your logic appears to be flawed. You are arguing that because Reimold hasn't improved on his power numbers from a 50-game sample last year, this means he isn't a good prospect? Not only that, you also compared his progress to that of Liz, a pitcher (apples to oranges, pitchers tend to follow different developmental trends than hitters...a discussion for another time). The bottom line is that Reimold has, in his first 100 games in AA, put up very impressive numbers among the elite in his league, at a reasonable age, and the main reason he's "older" than he should be is that he's been hindered by injury. The fact is, when your first 200 ABs at a level are elite quality (which a .930 OPS certainly is), that will be hard to duplicate in your second 200 ABs, regardless of whether you are a prospect or not. Many current MLers have taken brief and relatively small dips in their performances in this way...this does not necessarily mean anything is wrong with him. You have really just created a false dichotomy (this season v last season), whereas Reimold's AA accomplishments should be viewed as a whole. And as a whole, they are very impressive (~.900 OPS over ~400 ABs).

Also, you admit that his K:BB ratio has improved, but apparently dismiss this as insignificant. I'm not sure what inspired you to do that, given the importance of that ratio in predicting future success.

[Lucky Jim]

I'm not sure why you'd look at his numbers and assume that he had a strong May after an abysmal April and figure that means he'd deliver in OPACY.

Where did I assume anything?

My point is, in a small sample, an anomalous bad month is rarely indicative of overall talent or level of performance.

What he can or can't do at the ML level now or in the future is beyond my purview.

But to characterize this as a down year is premature (and, apparently, inaccurate in light of recent trends.)

[BoysofArbutus]

It sounds like you are reacting to one extreme view (Reimold will be an impact bat for the Os soon...and BTW, I don't know where you got the impression that most ppl think this) by taking the opposite extreme ("journeyman career fifth outfielder"). The answer is almost certainly somewhere in the middle. Tony's comp. of Gary Roenicke may turn out to be right...that doesn't excite me but it's certainly better than what you've envisioned.

Your logic appears to be flawed. You are arguing that because Reimold hasn't improved on his power numbers from a 50-game sample last year, this means he isn't a good prospect? Not only that, you also compared his progress to that of Liz, a pitcher (apples to oranges, pitchers tend to follow different developmental trends than hitters...a discussion for another time). The bottom line is that Reimold has, in his first 100 games in AA, put up very impressive numbers among the elite in his league, at a reasonable age, and the main reason he's "older" than he should be is that he's been hindered by injury. The fact is, when your first 200 ABs at a level are elite quality (which a .930 OPS certainly is), that will be hard to duplicate in your second 200 ABs, regardless of whether you are a prospect or not. Many current MLers have taken brief and relatively small dips in their performances in this way...this does not necessarily mean anything is wrong with him. You have really just created a false dichotomy (this season v last season), whereas Reimold's AA accomplishments should be viewed as a whole. And as a whole, they are very impressive (~.900 OPS over ~400 ABs).

Also, you admit that his K:BB ratio has improved, but apparently dismiss this as insignificant. I'm not sure what inspired you to do that, given the importance of that ratio in predicting future success.

Considering the number of posters who are in favor of promoting Reimold and letting him play everyday in left field/DH in order to boost the offense, I'd say it's fair that there is a general support for him. His numbers are elite, and yes, injury has hindered his rise, but at 24 years old, he's still old to be considered an elite prospect.

For comparison's sake, his battery mate Luis Montanez played Double-A at 24 years old and put up a .927 OPS. Elite statistically, but he is still in Double-A. I'm not getting my hopes up and if Gary Roenicke is his ceiling, than we should be ready to look for other options

[Jenius]

Considering the number of posters who are in favor of promoting Reimold and letting him play everyday in left field/DH in order to boost the offense, I'd say it's fair that there is a general support for him. His numbers are elite, and yes, injury has hindered his rise, but at 24 years old, he's still old to be considered an elite prospect.

It's one thing to say he's not an elite prospect. It's another to say he's not a solid prospect. Where is the middle ground?

For comparison's sake, his battery mate Luis Montanez played Double-A at 24 years old and put up a .927 OPS. Elite statistically, but he is still in Double-A. I'm not getting my hopes up and if Gary Roenicke is his ceiling, than we should be ready to look for other options

Well, IMO we should always be ready to look for other options anyway. The only hitting prospect we have that appears to be worth planning the future around is Wieters. But that's more of a philosophical question. Again, it seems that your view is extemely polarized: either we embrace Reimold as LF savior or treat him like organizational filler. Why can't we just call him what he is: a decent prospect whose star has faded a bit but who still shows promise of being a solid ML OFer?

Aside from that, Roenicke actually was a slightly better than league average hitter, who was never really given an extended shot to play every day (always was the RH half of a platoon). He was better against lefties but his numbers against RHP weren't bad for that era. He was an average fielder who played the corners and occasionally CF or 1B. Aside from the precipitous decline in his early 30s, another Roenicke wouldn't be so bad.

[oriole_way]

The problem with a Roenicke comp is that not many teams, and this definitely includes the Orioles, platoon players anymore.

Speaking of the Roenicke comp, it's somewhat interesting to note that Reimold's splits are reversed this year. Thus far, he has posted a .935 OPS (142 AB) vs RH and .706 OPS (67 AB) vs LH this year.

Small sample size, you say??? Possibly. But with Reimold's astoundingly different BB/K ratio this year, I'm not so sure.

And the 142 AB against RH (which is what we're really interested in, since we know that he has traditionally mashed lefties in the past) this year isn't really that small of a sample size.

[ATO UMD]

3 for 5 tonight (6/6) with an RBI and his 15th double of the year. Nolan's now hitting .279/.370/.482/.852

Hopefully June is as good as May.

[theobird]

It's one thing to say he's not an elite prospect. It's another to say he's not a solid prospect. Where is the middle ground?

Well, IMO we should always be ready to look for other options anyway. The only hitting prospect we have that appears to be worth planning the future around is Wieters. But that's more of a philosophical question. Again, it seems that your view is extemely polarized: either we embrace Reimold as LF savior or treat him like organizational filler. Why can't we just call him what he is: a decent prospect whose star has faded a bit but who still shows promise of being a solid ML OFer?

Aside from that, Roenicke actually was a slightly better than league average hitter, who was never really given an extended shot to play every day (always was the RH half of a platoon). He was better against lefties but his numbers against RHP weren't bad for that era. He was an average fielder who played the corners and occasionally CF or 1B. Aside from the precipitous decline in his early 30s, another Roenicke wouldn't be so bad.

Gary Roenicke was an outstanding defensive LFer. When brother Low played, the drop off was felt defensively. I see Reimold as very similar to Roenicke, with more power. And at least to me, that is a very, very good player.

[sector7g]

Reimold just hit HR no.9 on the season. Against a genuine pitching prospect too, Jordan Zimmermann.

[BowieMike]

He took a 3-2 fastball and absolutely hammered it to dead center. It was a no-doubt-abouter.

[Who's On 1st]

Sorry I missed it!

Good to see him getting some homers (9) along with the singles and doubles he has been getting!

[Sports Guy]

He has added a double to that homer today...His only out was a line drive to short.

EDIT: He has added a walk to that 2-3.

[BaltBird 24]

At 24, it's gotta be close to time to find out if this guy can be a long-term solution to the team, or another guy who is destined to be a fringe utility type player. The O's really need to rid themselves of Payton/Millar/ whoever else blocking Reimold out.

[baltimoriole]

It makes no sense to replace Millar with Reimold. Millar is actually playing well if you haven't watched lately. Sure he's not the 1b of the future but while the O's are still in it they should never consider switching the two. Reimold will get his shot once the O's are sufficiently far enough away from contention.

[BaltBird 24]

It makes no sense to replace Millar with Reimold. Millar is actually playing well if you haven't watched lately. Sure he's not the 1b of the future but while the O's are still in it they should never consider switching the two. Reimold will get his shot once the O's are sufficiently far enough away from contention.

There's very little chance the Orioles will continue to play as well as they have thus far. There's also very little chance Kevin Millar will still be on the team when we're ready to compete. Now's the time to find out who can be here, and who can't. Reimold still has a chance.

[Frobby]

Reimold needs to move up a level sometime this month. His overall numbers at Bowie (.870 OPS) justify it. I'm very happy with his K/BB ratio which was his big problem last year and in the AFL.