Big Man on the Farm: Nolan Reimold

Help is on the way; eventually. The Norfolk Tides lineup alone right now shows at least 4 or 5 players who are sure to have long careers in the Majors. We've all heard the non-stop talk about Matt Wieters, who is going to be a great Oriole eventually, but let's focus on another player in that Norfolk lineup right now who is putting up great numbers so far in this young season. That player is Nolan Reimold.

Reimold is a 6'6", 205 lb, outfielder who has been great at the plate so far in 10 games for the Norfolk Tides this season. In those games, Reimold has hit .457, with 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, 17 total hits, 8 runs scored, a double, and 4 walks. If those aren't great numbers 10 games into the season, I don't know what is.

In the 2008 season while at Bowie, Reimold played in 139 total games, batting .284 with 24 HRs, 84 RBIs, 29 doubles, 144 total hits, 87 runs scored, and 63 walks. By looking at numbers like this at the AA level, Reimold can be strong through a whole season, so look for his big numbers that he is putting up already in 2009 at Norfolk to continue through the summer months.

I think that it is very encouraging to see numbers like this being put up just one step from the majors, especially while we are seeing the likes of someone like Felix Pie struggle badly up to this point for the Orioles. Pie has not shown the strong fielding, strong arm, or strong bat that he was advertised as, and through 13 games I think that Orioles fans are already sick of seeing him struggle. Why not give Reimold a shot at it sometime soon, because from what I have seen so far, he could turn out to be a future familiar face in the Baltimore outfield. I think that if Pie continues to not put up the numbers that he is expected to, we could see a switch between he and Reimold, and Nolan could get his shot at the majors. When that day comes I don't expect Reimold to look back, but instead make a name for himself in Baltimore, much like Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis did, being brought up in the Baltimore system and breaking into the majors at a young age. Look for Matt Wieters to do the same, but we'll concentrate on him in another Big Man on the Farm segment.

J.F