At the center of the Orioles Spring Training position battles is 27 year old outfielder Nolan Reimold who made his Major League debut with the Orioles on May 14, 2009. Reimold was drafted by the O’s in the second round of the 2005 draft and has played in 143 games at the Major League level.
Upon reaching the big leagues, Reimold looked to be the Orioles “best kept secret” down on the farm when he came up. In 2009 his numbers earned him the illustrious triple crown award for his achievements in the the Eastern League with Bowie. The left fielder caught on at the plate, finishing with a .279 average and making the necessary adjustments against big league pitchers. One of my favorite memories at Camden Yards was when Reimold hit a walk off home run against the Blue Jays in the 11th inning in a day game to sweep the series. 2009 was great for Reimold, despite missing the last half of September with an achilles injury.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25 | BAL | AL | 104 | 411 | 358 | 49 | 100 | 18 | 2 | 15 | 45 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 77 | .279 | .365 | .466 | .831 | 116 |
| 2010 | 26 | BAL | AL | 39 | 131 | 116 | 9 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 26 | .207 | .282 | .328 | .610 | 66 |
| 2 Seasons | 143 | 542 | 474 | 58 | 124 | 23 | 2 | 18 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 59 | 103 | .262 | .345 | .432 | .778 | 104 | |||
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 614 | 537 | 66 | 140 | 26 | 2 | 20 | 67 | 9 | 2 | 67 | 117 | .262 | .345 | .432 | .778 | 104 | |||
Last season was not as pleasant. Reimold’s spring started slow and some blamed his poor performance in Florida on recovery from his offseason injury. He was unable to find momentum at the plate going 0 for his first 22 last season in Spring Training and eventually lost his job in left field to Felix Pie.
After starting in just 24 games in may with a .205 average, 2 home runs and 10 RBI, the Orioles sent Reimold back to Norfolk to work in hopes of that momentum returning. With the Tides, Reimold continued to struggle hitting just .249 after a season in which he hit nearly .400 at the level.
2010 finished nearly the same way it began for Reimold, who started nine games after being called up in September. In September and October, he hit just .212 with one home run and 4 RBI.
This spring, Reimold looks to fight for a spot on the Orioles roster on a team that is deep with talent in left field. With just a game under his belt in Sarasota, Reimold is already making the competition interesting after he belted a solo home run on his first swing of the spring. After that homer, Reimold didn’t see too many good pitches to hit as he was walked three times.
Reimold told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, “A year makes a big difference.”
Norfolk doesn’t play in the Eastern League. That would be Bowie.
Nolan certainly got off to a great start yesterday showing both power and plate discipline with a home run and three walks.
Reimold??? Another of the Orioles overrated minor leaguers… A guy they will hold onto for no other reason than to be a filler for when they need someone… When Derrick Lee or Vlad is traded this year then Reimolds name will surely come up as the 1st sacker of left fielder (If Scott moves to 1st when Lee is traded).
Just like Pie (I know he came from Cubs but he fits the category) and older guys like Juan Bell, Larry Bigbie, Damon Buford, Freddie Bynum, Howie Clark, Brandon Fahey, Jeff Fiorentino, Luis Hernandez, Luis Lopez, Val Majewski, Luis Matos, David Newhan, Corey Patterson (Same as Pie), Ed Rogers, Oscar Salazar, Chris Singleton…
Most are all overhyped Oriole minor leaguers that they keep around because they are cheap and no one else wants them… And I didn’t mention the abundance of overrated pitchers the O’s had and looks like they still have… Where are all these great pitchers the O’s traded for that have panned out??? Matusz? He’s 15-14 and supposidly the best of the O’s minor league pitchers…
I don’t smell what the Orioles are cooking? Because from all indications it smells like a landfill…
Nolan is 27 years old and had 3 good major league months, yet some in this town view him as “The Franchise”. You should have saw the uproar when the signed Vlad! How many players have come up and looked good for 3 months only to disappear into obscurity? We learned one thing about this guy last year, he is not mentally tough…a bad sign for a big time athlete.
From Fangraphs: (a more objective view than my own)
“What Reimold has shown isn’t actually terrible. He can take a walk (10.9% career, >13% in Triple-A the last two years). He doesn’t strike out a ton (21.7% career, 21.5% MiLB career). As much as his power disappeared in 2010, his rookie season showed a .187 ISO that would make the O’s happy – and his minor league career (.215 ISO) points to some more upside beyond.”
He isn’t the franchise but he can be a valuable and contributing piece. Also, he is a cheap right now (< $1M).
Ross,
I say that the Vlad signing is the best thing that could have happened to a legitimate major leaguer, if Reimold is one. Competition is a great thing and if the guy has to fight his way on the team, good for us as fans. But, my biggest hesitation is his mental toughness. I heard he was going through some issues last season that may have caused some of his problems on the field. Hey, all of us mortal men face those issues, but these guys are expected to be able to put everything else aside once on the field and go rake. That’s why they earn the money they earn. This is not an assault on him, just an observation and I’m not saying, given the same circumstances that I would have handled it any better…BUT, Those guys that make solid careers in sports are the ones able the ones who can just focus on the game. Hey, I can’t hit a 75 mile a hour fastball anymore, much less a 95 mph one, but that’s why I’m blogging and their major leaguers. If the guy is going to cut it, he better get tougher, mentally.
I respect that opinion. Its generally tough to verify and quantify those situations so I tend not to spend as much time analyzing them but they certainly can affect performance.
MGW – Reimold may have had some off field issues and if he did then I know it can be rough. However, going through those issues at home then going to the ballpark to either sit on the bench, go bat 3 times or field 2-5 balls a game, I don’t feel sorry for him. Make him have those same issues then have to go to an 8 1/2 hour job EVERY DAY and deal with critical work issues to boot, then I will feel sorry for him. Trust me and you, MGW, know it, but I had very bad issues and had to go to work on top of it for a year or more. I’d gladly trade him the job I had to do for his batting 3 times a game with those personal issues.
Anytime someone has personal issues is bad but going to a ballpark 5 months out of the year, making $5-$9 hundred thousand a year against working everyday of the year and making under $100 grand is no comparison.