Nolan Reimold may only be in his first full season of professional baseball, but he already shows signs of a poised veteran.
A second-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2005, Reimold is arguably the most feared hitters in the Class-A Frederick Keys lineup this year. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans found this out as Reimold went 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run and two RBI, including one in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Keys? 5-4 come-from-behind win last week at Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick.
Reimold, a 22-year-old outfielder, is currently batting .317 with six homers, 29 RBI and 10 stolen bases through 40 games for the Keys. This comes after he hit a combined .285 with 15 homers and 41 RBI over 73 games, splitting time between the short-season Class-A Aberdeen Ironbirds in Harford County and Frederick in 2005.
“Baseball is a game of adjustments and there was a huge adjustment for me last year,” Reimold said. “Pitchers toward the end of last year were throwing me away, away, away. So, I?ve learned to go the opposite way more this year.”
Frederick Keys manager Bien Figueroa said Reimold is steadily improving in every aspect of his game, especially in his approach toward hitting.
“The biggest improvement I see in Nolan is that he is taking more pitches now,” Figueroa said. “I still see him chasing too many high pitches, but he?s starting to make the proper adjustments.”
Orioles? director of minor league operations Dave Stockstill said Reimold has all of the tools to be a successful player and just needs some more seasoning in the minors.
“We?re very proud of his progress,” Stockstill said. “He?s one of the players we have in the system that we think can make an impact in the major leagues.”
Reimold said that although he is proud of his personal accomplishments so far as a professional, he can?t dwell too much on those in his push toward reaching the major leagues.
“The game is all about learning to get better and make the right adjustments, because you?re always just one call away from getting to the next level,” he said.
THE REIMOLD FILE
Birthdate: Oct. 12, 1983
Hometown: Greenville, Pa.
College: Bowling Green University
Did you know? Baseball America named Reimold the top prospect in the New York-Penn League last year while at Aberdeen ? Was named the Orioles? fourth best overall prospect by Baseball America in 2005 ? Batted .360 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI in his last season at Bowling Green en route to being named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year.
