A tale of two Reimold's

[Sports Guy]

Sounds like he has some flaws that can be easily corrected...He needs better coaching.

[Frobby]

Sounds like he has some flaws that can be easily corrected...He needs better coaching.

Life is so simple.

[Three Run Homer]

AAA is a step up from AA. If you don't believe that, ask Radhames Liz and Mike Costanzo.

[gatoto]

I agree with your first statement whole heartedly, and I hope the Orioles do to.

In Reimold's case, this is the classic example of people just looking at the stats and not seeing what is going on in the total picture.

Let's take Friday for example. Reimold rips the first fastball he sees into left field down the line. the left fielder was slow to the ball and if Reimold had been running for two from the get go he would have had a double. He turned first kind of hesitated, then started to go, before deciding to hold off on a single. Overall I would say it was not a very good base running play which falls more into the instincts area.

The pitcher he hit it against had pitched in independent ball the last three years and would be major reach to say he's a major league prospect.

The next at bat he got behind in the count and the was badly fooled by a changeup. He was very unbalanced on his swing and got out in front.

The next at bat he faces a guy throwing about 84 MPH and after getting ahead in the count, he ends up flying out to right field or pretty straight 84 MPH fastball or as most people like to call the pitch, a home run pitch. To me, that's the kind of ball a good hitter shouldn't miss.

The next time up Reimold doesn't miss that pitch and ends up smashing a home run against the same 84 MPH crap fastball. It was good to see him make the adjustment, but the quality of pitching he was facing was pretty bad.

Over the next few games I've saw Reimold be very patient, which is a good thing for the most part, but it appears he waits a little too long at times and either misses or fouls off some very hittable pitches. He also seems to get out on his front foot a little too much, even though he's seeing very few fastballs.

I'm also not crazy about all this movement he has pre-pitch. He literally rocks forward in his stance before loading which wouldn't be that bad, but from what I see, his hands end up in a different load position some times because of that rocking and I think that contributes to the inconsistency of his swing.

In the outfield, Reimold has a strong arm but the accuracy is not that great on throws to home and third and he seems to take a little bit of a lackidasical approach on balls into the corner. With his arm, if he had gotten to the ball quickly, he may have play on the runner at second, especially with some of the slow guys that NH was running out there. It just appears to me that he's not really into who he's playing and doesn't know the competition or at the very least doesn't anticipate well.

Saying all that, there are things to like about Reimold like the quick hands, major league bat speed, power, and patience at the plate.

However, there are things he still needs to work on and I think the Orioles would like to see that consistency game in and game out in all aspects of his game.

I know some baseball people who don't think he's going to be more than a Triple-A guy or maybe a four-A guy, but I think he's got enough pluses that if he stays healthy, he's going to have a role in the majors. However, I'd probably say he's going to end up more like a Gary Reonicke than Tim Salmon (my original MLE).

There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not sure he's the impact bat we had hoped for a few years ago.

Tony, I respect your opinion. You bring up a lot of points that I wasnt there to see so i am going to take your word for it. Well I need to bring up a couple of points that you need to take a look at. In 374 AA at bats Riemold is hitting 291 with 17 HR, 27 2B, and an OPS of 885. I dont post much on this board but i do read it. Last year even though he hit 306 with an OPS over 900 people on this board said that he had to many K's. Fair enough. After he lead the AFL in HR and RBI's people were still down on him because of his K rate. OK look at this year 26 K's and 29 BB. He was understandably dissapointed that he did not get invited to Big league camp. I would guess that he was told to cut down on the strikeouts. It looks as if he has addressed his only major flaw. He was very bad in his first 15 games, perhaps from making these adjustments. If you can give him a pass on the first 15 and look at the last 36 he is destroying AA pitching again this time without the K's. The kid is 24, he has been in the minors for 4 years, killing the ball where ever he has been. He thought he deserved a shot at the Bigs at the beginning of the year, he didnt get it. He has worked his but off this year and he looks up and sees a couple of 35 year old hitting 230 (millar and Payton) and he still doesnt get a shot. Tony if being unsure that you have a 2B and settling for a single, and misplaying a ball in a tricky corner is worth a downgrade so be it. You can downgrade him, the scouts can downgrade him all he can do is continue to produce big numbers and hope for that call. Payton and Millar can continue to hit 230 and Riemold can keep putting up an OPS of 900 in AA and we can have another 10 losing seasons in a row. But at least the Baysox will win!

[Sports Guy]

The pre-adjustment Reimold would have been a good candidate for a Gary Roenicke type career. He crushed LH pitching but had some serious flaws which were exploited vs. RH pitching. The NEW Reimold looks to grade out as an everyday player to me. He may not be the perfect player but in the end, it's his bat that will do the talking. What I read was that he had ML bat speed and was patient at the plate. The crticism was that sometimes he may have waited too long on some pitches. He's facing the same pitching that everyone else in AA is facing and he's been one of the top performers over the last month. If you watched Nick Markakis over the last 2 weeks, 99.9% of scouts would have said he sucks big time. I think we have to be careful of paralysis by analysis. I don't know if he'll be an impact bat but I don't see how he can be downgraded from where he was ranked last year.

To me, Reimold is going to be a right handed Luke Scott. That type of production.

[Mackus]

Tony, I respect your opinion. You bring up a lot of points that I wasnt there to see so i am going to take your word for it. Well I need to bring up a couple of points that you need to take a look at. In 374 AA at bats Riemold is hitting 291 with 17 HR, 27 2B, and an OPS of 885. I dont post much on this board but i do read it. Last year even though he hit 306 with an OPS over 900 people on this board said that he had to many K's. Fair enough. After he lead the AFL in HR and RBI's people were still down on him because of his K rate. OK look at this year 26 K's and 29 BB. He was understandably dissapointed that he did not get invited to Big league camp. I would guess that he was told to cut down on the strikeouts. It looks as if he has addressed his only major flaw. He was very bad in his first 15 games, perhaps from making these adjustments. If you can give him a pass on the first 15 and look at the last 36 he is destroying AA pitching again this time without the K's. The kid is 24, he has been in the minors for 4 years, killing the ball where ever he has been. He thought he deserved a shot at the Bigs at the beginning of the year, he didnt get it. He has worked his but off this year and he looks up and sees a couple of 35 year old hitting 230 (millar and Payton) and he still doesnt get a shot. Tony if being unsure that you have a 2B and settling for a single, and misplaying a ball in a tricky corner is worth a downgrade so be it. You can downgrade him, the scouts can downgrade him all he can do is continue to produce big numbers and hope for that call. Payton and Millar can continue to hit 230 and Riemold can keep putting up an OPS of 900 in AA and we can have another 10 losing seasons in a row. But at least the Baysox will win!

I definitely agree that in terms of being told to correct a flaw, and then going out and doing it, Nolan has done absolutely everything that could be asked of him.

I think he is ready for AAA now, and aside from just ensuring that his current low-K success isn't just a monthlong hot-streak, I don't see much reason to keep him at Bowie much longer. I think we'll probably see him promoted to Norfolk by the end of June though, probably around the same time Wieters is bumped up to Bowie.

[Tony-OH]

Tony, I respect your opinion. You bring up a lot of points that I wasnt there to see so i am going to take your word for it. Well I need to bring up a couple of points that you need to take a look at. In 374 AA at bats Riemold is hitting 291 with 17 HR, 27 2B, and an OPS of 885. I dont post much on this board but i do read it. Last year even though he hit 306 with an OPS over 900 people on this board said that he had to many K's. Fair enough. After he lead the AFL in HR and RBI's people were still down on him because of his K rate. OK look at this year 26 K's and 29 BB. He was understandably dissapointed that he did not get invited to Big league camp. I would guess that he was told to cut down on the strikeouts. It looks as if he has addressed his only major flaw. He was very bad in his first 15 games, perhaps from making these adjustments. If you can give him a pass on the first 15 and look at the last 36 he is destroying AA pitching again this time without the K's. The kid is 24, he has been in the minors for 4 years, killing the ball where ever he has been. He thought he deserved a shot at the Bigs at the beginning of the year, he didnt get it. He has worked his but off this year and he looks up and sees a couple of 35 year old hitting 230 (millar and Payton) and he still doesnt get a shot. Tony if being unsure that you have a 2B and settling for a single, and misplaying a ball in a tricky corner is worth a downgrade so be it. You can downgrade him, the scouts can downgrade him all he can do is continue to produce big numbers and hope for that call. Payton and Millar can continue to hit 230 and Riemold can keep putting up an OPS of 900 in AA and we can have another 10 losing seasons in a row. But at least the Baysox will win!

I hope you would think that I'm going off a little more than that.

Like I've said, I still have higher hopes for Reimold than a lot of guys, so please don't paint me as anti-Reimold. I certainly hope he develops into an everyday masher, I'm just not so sure. remember, Gary Roenicke already hit 25 homers in the major leagues at Reimold's age.

[Frobby]

I hope you would think that I'm going off a little more than that.

Like I've said, I still have higher hopes for Reimold than a lot of guys, so please don't paint me as anti-Reimold. I certainly hope he develops into an everyday masher, I'm just not so sure. remember, Gary Roenicke already hit 25 homers in the major leagues at Reimold's age.

I think people are forgetting just how highly you ranked Reimold at one time. "All star corner outfielder" was his projected role at the end of 2005, if I recall, whereas Markakis was merely an "everyday corner OF." In that context, downgrading Reimold is understandable.

[Sports Guy]

I think people are forgetting just how highly you ranked Reimold at one time. "All star corner outfielder" was his projected role at the end of 2005, if I recall, whereas Markakis was merely an "everyday corner OF." In that context, downgrading Reimold is understandable.

Its not just Tony either...BA has had him as a top 100 guy and many other publications have as well.

I really like what Reimold is doing this year but it is also obvious, going off of Tony's thoughts, that he needs to tweak some things.

[hoosiers]

I think people are forgetting just how highly you ranked Reimold at one time. "All star corner outfielder" was his projected role at the end of 2005, if I recall, whereas Markakis was merely an "everyday corner OF." In that context, downgrading Reimold is understandable.

I believe Reimold and Snyder were both the top prospects in their leagues per BA after being drafted. The status of each player has been stalled due to injury, but I believe both retain a large majority of the talent and ceiling they showed after being drafted.

[Tony-OH]

I think people are forgetting just how highly you ranked Reimold at one time. "All star corner outfielder" was his projected role at the end of 2005, if I recall, whereas Markakis was merely an "everyday corner OF." In that context, downgrading Reimold is understandable.

Thanks for pointing that out, Rick, that's really what I'm trying to say. I still believe that Reimold has enough skills that will translate to some success in the major leagues, but just not as that impact bat we were hoping for.

Also, if you look at Gary Roenicke's numbers, he actually had an OPS over the league average almost every year he was in the majors. Reimold will end up a very rich man if he could duplicate Reonicke's success, especially when translated to today's offensive numbers,

[BillySmith]

I believe Reimold and Snyder were both the top prospects in their leagues per BA after being drafted. The status of each player has been stalled due to injury, but I believe both retain a large majority of the talent and ceiling they showed after being drafted.

Shoot. I sure hope you're wrong Tony. It seems that when he's healthy, he has done things very well. I see him more like a 23 year old who is mashing due to the lost time from injuries. I don't think his age is that big of a deal.

Improving plate discipline, solid power and defense. Seems good to me.

[psk3170]

I once read Jay Buhner as a comp for Reimold and I think that is a great comp. Buhner was a solid everyday major leaguer with awesome power, solid fielder with a good arm with some K's and other flaws evident as well. I would be very happy with a Jay Buhner career out of Nolan Reimold.

When I read the comments on this board about Reimold I think of Maine and JJ (Jimmy Johnson) on this board. I remember both getting highly ranked early in their careers and then by the time they got to the upper minors/ majors they both got labeled as career 4A, 4th OF or major league bench players/mop up relievers based on some info a front office person or scout passed along outlining tons of flaws in their game. Maine and JJ seemed to be exceeding that assessment at the moment although it is early on both players.

Maine was labeled a one pitch pitcher ( fastball with command) that would get smacked hard in the majors due to predictability. Maine to me is what Olson will hopefully be a solid #3 or #4 in a good major league rotation. Solid but not great.

JJ’s fastball was too straight, his pitches lacked movement that would supposedly get exploited by better hitters in the majors is what I always read on this board. JJ to me was always an unsung #2 starter on every staff he pitched on that year after year put up solid but not spectacular minor league numbers and rarely missed a start. I did not see Jim Palmer but I did see a major leaguer even when other gave up on him. I had him pegged as a #5 starter or solid reliever which is what is playing out.

Both Maine and JJ got downgraded due to disastrous major league debuts in my opinion.

Another guy who gets labeled unfairly and keeps performing is Vinyard. I still have high hopes for him although I realize that he is a hitter without a position. Based on how people post on this board the impression I get is that he will crash and burn when he hits the upper minors. My guess is he will keep putting up numbers in AA/AAA but not sure yet if he is a Millar/Huff Dh/Bench type Major leaguer yet which is what I hope he will become.

The moral of the story is never underestimate a guy’s heart and perseverance. The one thing Maine, JJ, and Vinyard seem to have is heart and perseverance. It is also the reason I think Cormier is exceeding my expectations at the moment after I labeled him a huge bust in spring training and gave up on him.

Reimold seems to have heart but I sometimes see entitlement in his comments as well. Hopefully heart wins out over entitlement because entitlement never brings good results. My guess is the guy will be a solid everyday #3 OF and we will have one of the best OF’s in the league both defensively and offensively. Tripp will join them as the #4 OF that Fiorentino should have become.

[Tony-OH]

I once read Jay Buhner as a comp for Reimold and I think that is a great comp. Buhner was a solid everyday major leaguer with awesome power, solid fielder with a good arm with some K's and other flaws evident as well. I would be very happy with a Jay Buhner career out of Nolan Reimold.

When I read the comments on this board about Reimold I think of Maine and JJ (Jimmy Johnson) on this board. I remember both getting highly ranked early in their careers and then by the time they got to the upper minors/ majors they both got labeled as career 4A, 4th OF or major league bench players/mop up relievers based on some info a front office person or scout passed along outlining tons of flaws in their game. Maine and JJ seemed to be exceeding that assessment at the moment although it is early on both players.

Maine was labeled a one pitch pitcher ( fastball with command) that would get smacked hard in the majors due to predictability. Maine to me is what Olson will hopefully be a solid #3 or #4 in a good major league rotation. Solid but not great.

JJ’s fastball was too straight, his pitches lacked movement that would supposedly get exploited by better hitters in the majors is what I always read on this board. JJ to me was always an unsung #2 starter on every staff he pitched on that year after year put up solid but not spectacular minor league numbers and rarely missed a start. I did not see Jim Palmer but I did see a major leaguer even when other gave up on him. I had him pegged as a #5 starter or solid reliever which is what is playing out.

Both Maine and JJ got downgraded due to disastrous major league debuts in my opinion.

Another guy who gets labeled unfairly and keeps performing is Vinyard. I still have high hopes for him although I realize that he is a hitter without a position. Based on how people post on this board the impression I get is that he will crash and burn when he hits the upper minors. My guess is he will keep putting up numbers in AA/AAA but not sure yet if he is a Millar/Huff Dh/Bench type Major leaguer yet which is what I hope he will become.

The moral of the story is never underestimate a guy’s heart and perseverance. The one thing Maine, JJ, and Vinyard seem to have is heart and perseverance. It is also the reason I think Cormier is exceeding my expectations at the moment after I labeled him a huge bust in spring training and gave up on him.

Reimold seems to have heart but I sometimes see entitlement in his comments as well. Hopefully heart wins out over entitlement because entitlement never brings good results. My guess is the guy will be a solid everyday #3 OF and we will have one of the best OF’s in the league both defensively and offensively. Tripp will join them as the #4 OF that Fiorentino should have become.

What was said about Johnson was true as a starter, but what no one counted on was how much better his stuff got by only throwing an inning or two. As for Maine, he really improved under Petersons' tutelage.

[Jenius]

I once read Jay Buhner as a comp for Reimold and I think that is a great comp. Buhner was a solid everyday major leaguer with awesome power, solid fielder with a good arm with some K's and other flaws evident as well. I would be very happy with a Jay Buhner career out of Nolan Reimold.

Buhner might be a best-case scenario. Just keep in mind that by the time he was Reimold's age he had already dominated A+ ball at age 20 and (after skipping AA) dominated AAA at age 22, and had already posted nearly 300 ML AB's. In his 24-yo season Buhner posted an impressive .831 OPS in 200+ ABs with the Mariners. Also, I'm not sure Reimold has the potential for three consecutive 40-HR seasons. But I could see something similar to Buhner's .254-.359-.494, maybe with the SLG knocked down 40 points or so.

Another guy who gets labeled unfairly and keeps performing is Vinyard. I still have high hopes for him although I realize that he is a hitter without a position. Based on how people post on this board the impression I get is that he will crash and burn when he hits the upper minors. My guess is he will keep putting up numbers in AA/AAA but not sure yet if he is a Millar/Huff Dh/Bench type Major leaguer yet which is what I hope he will become.

First of all, Vinyard if anything has followed the opposite trend of what you described, at least on this board. He was (over?)hyped early on after hitting well over .300 at Aberdeen for several months in 2006, and finished with a solid .855 OPS in a pitcher's park that season. I think it was last season's dropoff in power (relatively modest .171 ISO power) with continued mediocre plate discipline that made him appear less promising, especially given his defensive issues. Unless he figures out how to get on base more, he won't approach the goal you set for him. Again, the comparison doesn't hold up - Huff dominated AA at age 22, and Millar was always a good AVG/OBP guy at every level, even though he was a bit of a late developer. I don't think Vinyard will "crash and burn" at the higher levels, but his ML production doesn't project to be sufficient for someone whose calling card is their hitting. I could see him as a fringe ML guy ala Wes Helms, and that might be overly optimistic. Guys that can't field don't get an abundance of ML opportunities, even when they have dominated minor league pitching.

My guess is the guy will be a solid everyday #3 OF and we will have one of the best OF’s in the league both defensively and offensively. Tripp will join them as the #4 OF that Fiorentino should have become.

Again, the numbers/projections don't really back up that last statement. Fio's numbers at Frederick were eerily similar to what Tripp is doing now (except that Tripp K's a lot more), and Fio did it at age 22.

Overall, I agree that intangibles can be a factor in projecting success, and obviously scouting is huge as well. But statistics can't be ignored, and some of your projections seem problematic to me, from that perspective.