Baltimore Orioles: Will We See Jomar Reyes Advance In 2020?

Once considered a top Baltimore Orioles prospect, third baseman Jomar Reyes needs to move beyond A-Adv. Frederick and prove he can play at the higher levels of Minor League baseball.

Signed in January of 2014 at the tender age of 16, Jomar Reyes was initially a fast-rising and highly-rated prospect in the Baltimore Orioles system.  A native of the Dominican Republic, Reyes has seen his advancement become stagnant in recent years, however.

Reyes managed to make it from the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League to Frederick of the Carolina League after just two seasons in the organization.  His promotion to the Keys came after a 2015 season in Delmarva that saw him hit .278/ .334/ .440 with five home runs and 44 RBI.  Reyes’ star was on the rise so much so that he went from being the Orioles #18 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, in 2014 to the team’s #4 prospect in 2016.

Unfortunately, the quick ascent through the system stalled in Frederick.  Reyes has spent the past four seasons in Frederick where he has accumulated a .262/ .302/ .380 slash line with 30 home runs, 167 RBI, 70 walks and 290 strikeouts over 392 games (98 games per season on average).

This past season was Reyes’ best statistically: .283/ .320/ .406 with eight home runs and 57 RBI over 100 games.  He did have better numbers in 2017, however, they were produced in an injury-shortened season.  Reyes suffered a self-inflicted hand injury that season when he hit a wall in the clubhouse after a game where he went 2 for 5 with one run scored and two RBI.

Reyes managed to get promoted to AA Bowie in August, but his time there was short-lived.  He played in just one game and completed one at-bat before being pinch-hit for and subsequently being placed on the 7-day IL where he finished out the 2019 season.

Reyes is currently playing for the Licey Tigers in the Dominican Winter League and through seven games is batting .167/ .167/ .333.  It must be noted that at 22 years of age he is, on average, almost 4.5 years younger than his DWL peers.

Sadly, this is not the first time that I have penned this type of piece on Reyes.  I opined that 2019 was a make or break year for him as well earlier this year.

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What is frustrating is that Reyes has such potential and flashes the ability to live up to that potential but also shows his relative immaturity and looks lackadaisical and disinterested at times.  I have seen the Frederick Keys in person quite a few times and I have noticed that Reyes, at times, looks like he would rather be anywhere than playing third base in Frederick.  One has to wonder if that attitude carries over into his at-bats and that contributes to his struggles.  No player can be happy to spend four years at the same MiLB level.

It is incumbent on Reyes to have a good spring training in 2020 and earn a spot on the Bowie Baysox roster.  Once there, his play needs to return to where it was earlier in his career.  If not, time and patience may very well run out on this once high prospect.

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