Reimold

[srh523]

You will have to show me how many real prospects put up 1000 OPS at AA and are left in the minors for four months.

It doesnt matter who else does it the fact is that they (yes MacPhail and Trembley) would have to bench Payton and Gibbons. I am not saying you are wrong I would rather have him getting at bats over both of those guys. I see Gibbons either being cut in the offseason and Payton going to the bench or traded. Certainly if he was healthy all season he should be here over Redman but unfortunatly he wasnt healthy all season. I see no reason at this point that he shouldnt be the #1 option in LF to start next season. We certainly have nothing to lose!

[wildcard]

Really no room for him this year. You know how they are about pushing vets to the bench. However had he stayed healthy he would certainly be a Sept call-up. I really see him making the team out of spring training which will be a huge lift.

If Reimold does not start over Payton and Redman when he is called up then......aarrrrrrrggggghhhh.

We are trying to find out about the future here.

[Lucky Jim]

I can't stress this enough - Markakis had slightly worse numbers than Reimold in AA, but was two years younger. Two years of development are a massive difference. Imagine Markakis in Bowie right now. If he wasn't hitting like a better version of Barry Bonds you'd be stunned. Reimold is acutally a month older than Markakis, and Nick has over 1000 quality major league plate appearances.

Based on their ages, performances, and relative experiences I'd expect Nick to have a major league career at least 50% longer, with other numbers along the same lines.

That's fair, I know. But it's got to be a factor that - of Reimold's three years in the minors, at least 50% of the time was eaten up by performance-effecting injuries. No?

I mean, probabilistically, we might not look to that as a factor. But in an individual, not probabilistic (because the latter is a blunt tool), analysis it's certainly something to take into consideration.

One and a half healthy years in the minors is not all that long a gestation period. He's produced mightily when healthy. Which is a good sign.

That said, I still fear the long swing and the strike-outs. I can easily see him as a guy who hits .230 with a ton of Ks and occasional power. Much easier, in fact, than I can see .280 with 30 HRs.

[bgfield]

Reimold really doesn't strike out a ton. The numbers could be better, without a doubt, but power hitters tend to strike out a lot. I also wonder how much his many injuries have increased his strikeout numbers.

[Lucky Jim]

Reimold really doesn't strike out a ton. The numbers could be better, without a doubt, but power hitters tend to strike out a lot. I also wonder how much his many injuries have increased his strikeout numbers.

About 1:4 ABs. Or once a game. In the low minors and AA. I'm not saying he strikes out too much now to be a prospect. I'm saying I can see him fanning a ton when he's called up, especially if it's next year.

[Big Mac]

About 1:4 ABs. Or once a game. In the low minors and AA. I'm not saying he strikes out too much now to be a prospect. I'm saying I can see him fanning a ton when he's called up, especially if it's next year.

Yeah, but I kinda like that 1.400 OPS vs lefties.

[DrungoHazewood]

Reimold really doesn't strike out a ton. The numbers could be better, without a doubt, but power hitters tend to strike out a lot.

He does strike out enough that it's hard to project him hitting for much of a batting average in the majors. He could improve, but I see him as more of a .250-ish hitter than a .300-ish hitter, and that'll have ripple effects in his OBP/SLG.

[Sports Guy]

Reimold also walks a lot...Could be a Dunn like guy...Low average, lots of K's but still a very good OBP.

[olehippi]

Reimold also walks a lot...Could be a Dunn like guy...Low average, lots of K's but still a very good OBP.

I think most of us would be extremely happy if Reimold is Dunn-like with a bat in his hand.....plus Reimold is much better defensively. I hope he gets called up in Sept and gets a shot to show he belongs.

[Mackus]

Reimold also walks a lot...Could be a Dunn like guy...Low average, lots of K's but still a very good OBP.

I'm thinking more like Mike Cameron minus the great speed and defense.

[blazer]

IF Reimold can stay healthy, he has a good shot at making the O's out of ST. The question is, what is more important, the Arizona Fall League or 3 weeks of ABs with the Orioles in September?

[ATO UMD]

Reimold seems like the hardest guy we have to project. He was hampered by injuries last year, which caused him to hit .255, and on the DL for most of this season, although he's putting up fantastic numbers.

I will say, though-- and unfortunately I don't have a link to support it --that in a beginning-of-the-year publication by scout.com they said if he reaches his potential, his ceiling could be higher than Markakis. Anybody else see that?

[Mackus]

Reimold seems like the hardest guy we have to project. He was hampered by injuries last year, which caused him to hit .255, and on the DL for most of this season, although he's putting up fantastic numbers.

I will say, though-- and unfortunately I don't have a link to support it --that in a beginning-of-the-year publication by scout.com they said if he reaches his potential, his ceiling could be higher than Markakis. Anybody else see that?

He's definitely got more power potential, so if he can hit and get on bsae at a similar clip as Markakis, he'll likely be the better hitter.

I doubt that though, although I do think he'll be a fine left-fielder. Not an AS quality guy, but a very sturdy player.

[NoVaO]

About 1:4 ABs. Or once a game. In the low minors and AA. I'm not saying he strikes out too much now to be a prospect. I'm saying I can see him fanning a ton when he's called up, especially if it's next year.

I'll say this...striking out 1 out of 4 times is striking out 25% of the time. For his career, he has basically struck out 21% of the time (which is about where it is right now). That is a very big difference in terms of K%. Doesn't mean it isn't a concern, but I don't see it as too much of a problem.

Also, from what I've read, his strikeouts and lower batting average (caused by Ks and not hitting the ball as hard as one would like) were more related to pitchers busting him inside and him being a mistake pitcher.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w=mms%3A//a1503.v108692.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/10869/v0001/mlb.download.akamai.com/10869/2005/open/draft/prospects/reimold_nolan_g_350.wmv&curl=custom_context/events/draft/y2005/index.jsp&pid=gen_video&cid=mlb&v=2&mType=w&urlstr=&mUrl=&type=v_free&_mp=1

His draft video is above. You can compare this video to the one from justD's in the prospect tracker and see the difference in where he sets up in the box. One way to see this is that he hasn't been hit by a pitch this year, while being hit by 9 pitches last year. That probably doesn't mean much but its still kinda interesting.

You can also see the adjustments in batting stance from his college days to his current state. His swing is shorter, hands are lower, and his body is more upright. Basically, cutting down on a bunch of unnecessary movement before swinging the bat allows him to get the bat through the zone faster.

Now, I agree with your overall conclusion. I wouldn't be counting on him to come in and start mashing the ball. Somebody mentioned earlier to leave him down there to see how he handles himself once the league makes adjustments. That is exactly what we should do.

He'll strikeout a decent amount as a major leaguer and I'm sure he'll strikeout a lot when he immediately arrives. Guys like him usually do.

I've always had concerns about his batting average. The Ks are part of the problem, but he doesn't hit many line drives (usually around 12%) and his BABIP has been up and down which could mean that he doesn't always make consistent, hard contact. This year it clearly hasn't been a problem, but the sample size is small.

[Lucky Jim]

I'll say this...striking out 1 out of 4 times is striking out 25% of the time. For his career, he has basically struck out 21% of the time (which is about where it is right now). That is a very big difference in terms of K%. Doesn't mean it isn't a concern, but I don't see it as too much of a problem.

Also, from what I've read, his strikeouts and lower batting average (caused by Ks and not hitting the ball as hard as one would like) were more related to pitchers busting him inside and him being a mistake pitcher.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/player/mp_tpl.jsp?w=mms%3A//a1503.v108692.c10869.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/1503/10869/v0001/mlb.download.akamai.com/10869/2005/open/draft/prospects/reimold_nolan_g_350.wmv&curl=custom_context/events/draft/y2005/index.jsp&pid=gen_video&cid=mlb&v=2&mType=w&urlstr=&mUrl=&type=v_free&_mp=1

His draft video is above. You can compare this video to the one from justD's in the prospect tracker and see the difference in where he sets up in the box. One way to see this is that he hasn't been hit by a pitch this year, while being hit by 9 pitches last year. That probably doesn't mean much but its still kinda interesting.

You can also see the adjustments in batting stance from his college days to his current state. His swing is shorter, hands are lower, and his body is more upright. Basically, cutting down on a bunch of unnecessary movement before swinging the bat allows him to get the bat through the zone faster.

Now, I agree with your overall conclusion. I wouldn't be counting on him to come in and start mashing the ball. Somebody mentioned earlier to leave him down there to see how he handles himself once the league makes adjustments. That is exactly what we should do.

He'll strikeout a decent amount as a major leaguer and I'm sure he'll strikeout a lot when he immediately arrives. Guys like him usually do.

I've always had concerns about his batting average. The Ks are part of the problem, but he doesn't hit many line drives (usually around 12%) and his BABIP has been up and down which could mean that he doesn't always make consistent, hard contact. This year it clearly hasn't been a problem, but the sample size is small.

Well, we can spin this whatever way we like - he's technically at 21.9% for his career in K-rate (209 Ks / 824 ABs + 130 BBs).

Maybe that's okay. But he's at 22.3% when you throw out the 9 games he played in the GCL this year at age 23. So, yeah, I'm a little off. But so is 21%. In fact, it appears we're about equally off. [Edited to note: if you add the HBPs, perhaps that changes: 954-36+15 = 933. 206/933= 21.5, I guess. I'm not sure if HBPs are counted or not.]

It seems to me that we're splitting hairs - I never used precise numbers because I'm not predicting anything specific. I'm just looking to the over-all trend and what I've heard from scouts. I think there's a chance that a lot of balls miss his bat at the major league level. Just a chance.