From when he was called up in May until he went down with an Achilles injury in mid-September, Nolan Reimold was having a standout rookie campaign. In 358 ABs, he had a line of 49/15/45/.279/8, slashing .279/.365/.466. Some days he hit for power, some days he stole bases, some days he was Fred Savage… Oh, wait, that’s his brother, Judge. None of the numbers Reimold put up in his first season strike me as being fluky. As of November, Reimold’s Achilles tendon was pain-free; he should be good to go for the start of spring training. So what can we expect for him this year and why is Nolan Reimold a 2010 fantasy baseball sleeper?
Thanks for the lead-in, Intro Paragraph, you sure live up to your name while asking the tough questions. For the answer and in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic, let’s blow some dust off this yellow-stained draft sheet and remove my monocle. According to Mock Draft Central, Reimold is being drafted about 140 spots after Hunter Pence. I do like Pence, but he’s that different from Reimold? Rhetorical! Reimold’s walk rate blows Pence’s out of the water at 11.6%. A .370 OBP doesn’t seem to be that far of a reach for Reimold in twenty-ten. I’m chirping about walks because a young player that can get on base with the free pass is a safer bet. For instance, let’s look at his worst month last year, August. Reimold hit .228 with only 2 homers. But it was also his highest month for the free pass at 15 and turned into his highest month for Runs with 13. As the old adage that was ignored for a 100 years of baseball goes, if a guy gets on base, something is bound to happen. Aside from walks, Reimold has slight speed and the aforementioned power. I wouldn’t be surprised if he grows into a Berkman-type in the next two years. 22 homers with 5 steals is the floor and definitely someone I’m targeting in all my drafts. For our Latino readers, id est, Reimold’s a 2010 fantasy baseball sleeper.
