With the recent spate of injuries, the Orioles have called up some reserves from the minors. How might Nolan Reimold, Brandon Snyder, and Ryan Adams do in the majors?
Reimold:
He was a favorite prospect of mine a few years ago due to the power and patience he displayed in the minors. He had a nice rookie season for the O's in 2009 - batting .297/.365/.466 despite an ankle injury - but then fell off tremendously last year (.207/.282/.328) before being sent to the minors (where he was better, but not a ton). Reimold started out this year in Triple-A as well, and he wasn't exactly mashing (.237/.329/.410).
Reimold, despite his struggles, has still done a nice job taking walks. His power is probably topping out at 20 home runs over a full season at this point, which is nice from a corner outfielder but not tremendous. His average in 2010 was down partially due to a low BABIP, but in the minors this year it was down because he was striking out in over 30% of his at bats. While he's always been a relatively high-K hitter, that's a really big jump.
Right now I'd project Nolan to hit something like .242/.318/.392, which isn't going to be enough to make him a starter - even in this lower run environment - if he's playing a below average left-field (which is expected). I still think he's got the ability to be more than that, but at 27 years old he's kind of running out of time to show it. Hopefully he can continue his good start in Baltimore (2-5 with a home run).
Snyder:
I've long doubted Snyder's ability to stick as a first-baseman in the majors, but he was off to a solid start in Triple-A this year (.276/.342/.455). He cut down on his strike-outs while walking a respectable amount, but unless he ups the free passes even more and maintains a high BABIP in the majors, his lack of power will hold him back.
I've got him projected at .241/.295/.352, which is worse than what Derrek Lee was providing - and I'd imagine Snyder isn't going to give the team the kind of glove-work that Lee does. If only he could still catch.
Adams:
He's been considered an all-hit no-field (or, at least, not so much field) prospect, but if that's the case then I don't see things going great. Adams is hitting .303/.373/.428 this year, but that's with
a .411 BABIP. He's not a complete hacker, but isn't the most patient guy at the plate. He strikes out too much. His power is fine for a second-baseman, but I'm not sure it'll go passed Brian Roberts levels.
I've got him projected at .253/.298/.365. I don't think it's reasonable to expect his minor league BABIP - around .360 - to carry forward to the majors (he's taking advantage of both worse pitchers and worse defenses), but without it, there's not all that much there. For the above line I was already using a relatively high .320, and while it's possible Adams can keep it up more towards .340, that still isn't to make a very valuable player (.266/.310/.375) if he's fielding isn't at least close to average.
Overall, there's probably a reason these guys were in the minors to start the season. Holes need to be filled though, so better some young guys with upside get the shot.
Stats:
BABIP
