Reimold makes solid impression

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles have a legitimate rookie of the year candidate, only it’s not the guy many figured would be putting up lofty numbers during his first season in the big leagues.

Nolan Reimold, a Kennedy Catholic graduate who played at Bowling Green, is the Orioles’ most productive rookie, though it was former first-round pick Matt Wieters who arrived in Baltimore on May 29 amid a wave of publicity and high expectations.

Wieters is batting .267 with three home runs and nine RBI. Reimold, a talented left fielder who never played above the Double-A level before this season, is fourth on the Orioles with nine home runs had has 23 RBI. He is batting .257 and owns a solid .333 on-base percentage.

“He doesn’t chase a lot of bad pitches, he’s got very good poise, he doesn’t get caught up in all those things. He just wants to play and hit and swing the bat,” manager Dave Trembley said. “He hits with power, yet he hits the ball the other way and he’ll take a walk. He just got a lot better quicker than a lot of people thought.”

Reimold batted .321 in spring training and hit four homers in only 28 at-bats. But he was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk in March and wasn’t even the first outfielder recalled by Baltimore after the regular season began.

Once Reimold arrived on May 14, however, he took over in left field after injuries sidelined Luke Scott and Lou Montanez. Now the 25-year-old Reimold is a fixture in one of the majors’ best young outfields.

“It happened pretty quick,” he said. “I started off well and I got the opportunity to come up here. I’ve had some continued success, so I’m feeling good about my season so far.”

The last-place Orioles have a long way to go before they can be a contender in the AL East, but their outfield of the future is already in place. Adam Jones, 23, will be playing in his first All-Star game next week and right fielder Nick Markakis is a lifetime .299 hitter. Throw in Reimold, and Baltimore has a trio of outfielders who not only hit for average and power, but also play solid defense.

“Oh my, those three guys, they can turn it around for us,” Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora said. “This could be a solid team because there are three young guys who can hit, and they have decent arms throwing in the outfield. This should be a good outfield for long time.”

Reimold was named AL Rookie of the Month for June after batting .320 in 26 games. He led all rookies with four homers, drove in nine runs and scored 13.

Trembley initially kept Reimold low in the lineup, but finally moved him up to fifth on June 26.

“I thought he was ready a month ago,” Trembley said at the time. “But I didn’t do it because you don’t want to give these guys too much too soon.”

Reimold has done nothing to make Trembley regret the decision. His longest hitless streak has been three games, and that’s happened only twice.

“He’s impressed a lot of people. He’s doing a heck of a job,” Jones said.

“He’s the right-handed left fielder, the power hitter we were looking for and waiting for,” Mora said. “So far, so good.”

Reimold began his professional career in 2005. He played in the MLB Futures Game in 2006, but in 2007, a rib cage injury limited him to 50 games with Double-A Bowie. Reimold returned to Bowie last year and put up huge numbers, which earned him an invite to the big league spring training camp this year.

“I paid my dues in the minor leagues, played at each level almost the whole year except at Triple-A,” he said. “Then I came up here and played well, and eventually worked my way up to where I am right now.”