Moving Up: Nolan Reimold

Most reports out of Baltimore are suggesting that outfielder Luke Scott is about to be placed on the disabled list. Scott was scheduled to have an MRI today on his injured left shoulder. Most of the Maryland media is in agreement that the result will see Scott on the disabled list very soon. The fondest wish of Orioles fans and Fantasy Baseball owners is that Nolan Reimold will be called up to replace him.

Reimold is an interesting prospect. He has suffered through a variety of injury problems that slowed his movement up the ladder and caused some to doubt his ability to become an impact minor leaguer. The 2009 Baseball America Prospect Handbook describes Reimold as someone who "... crushes mistakes and should be an average overall hitter..." He is better than that. His power is very good and he has improved a lot as a contact hitter over the last two seasons. I expect him to eventually hit for a decent average (in the .275-.285 range) and for 30-plus homers in a full season of at-bats.

Judging by his amazing start at triple-A, he could very well hit that projection by mid-July. On the strength of this start, fantasy owners everywhere are just waiting to pounce. I recommend that you be among them. As I'll say about every call-up, I expect Reimold to have his ups and downs this season but overall he should be worth owning in AL-leagues and deeper mixed leagues.

Season	Team	BB%	K%	OBP	SLG	OPS	ISO	Spd	BABIP	wOBA
2006	Orioles (A+)	15.50%	25.80%	0.379	0.455	0.834	0.200	3.8	0.301	0.379
2007	Orioles (R)	16.70%	13.30%	0.410	0.433	0.844	0.200	3.9	0.269	0.406
2007	Orioles (AA)	8.40%	25.30%	0.365	0.565	0.929	0.258	2.5	0.359	0.401
2008	Orioles (AA)	11.10%	16.20%	0.367	0.501	0.868	0.217	4.4	0.298	0.384
2009	CHONE	8.50%	22.90%	0.320	0.418	0.738	0.165	4.4	0.296	0.325
2009	Oliver	9.40%	21.40%	0.333	0.462	0.795	0.203		0.289	0.344
2009	ZiPS	8.10%	16.50%	0.338	0.462	0.800	0.184	3.6	0.296	0.348
2009	Orioles (AAA)	14.40%	20.80%	0.479	0.713	1.192	0.327	3.3	0.431	0.514