2022 Mets Draft profile: Jacob Reimer

Jacob Reimer has athletic parents, and those genes transferred to him. His father, Brandon, played baseball at Concordia University and his mother, Mariette, was a volleyball and basketball player in high school. Seeing his son’s interest in baseball as he grew up, Brandon had a batting cage installed in their home and turned into Jacob’s personal hitting coach and batting practice pitcher, leveraging his baseball knowledge to hone his son’s raw skills.

Jacob initially began his high school baseball career in 2019 on the Yucaipa High School junior varsity baseball team, but by the end of the season, he had been promoted to varsity. He remained there through his senior season, hitting .398 with 8 home runs in his final season with the Thunderbirds.

Reimer stands slightly open at the plate with a wide base, holding his hands high. He swings with a slight leg kick or toe tap timing mechanism and is direct to the ball. While being scouted in 2021 as a junior, evaluators had some concerns about his ability to put bat on ball due to an arm bar and questionable barrel control, but optimizations to his swing mechanics made between then and the conclusion of his senior season this past year satisfied many of the doubters. He generates above-average raw power and has registered exit velocities as high as 95 MPH, but much of his over-the-fence power is limited to batting practice at the present, and he is more contact-oriented during live games, concentrating on just putting barrel to ball.

While many of the walks that he drew were because opponents were pitching around him, Reimer does have a good eye and selective with the pitches he swings at, letting questionable pitches go by and swinging at pitches he believes he can drive. He sometimes gets pull heavy but is capable of using the entire field.

Reimer has mainly played third base for the Thunderbirds, but head coach Ralph Grajeda moved him to shortstop this past season. He is an athletic 6’2”, 205-pounds and showed no issues as a prep shortstop, but his future is undoubtedly at third base, as the game will likely move too fast for him at short as a professional. His arm and mobility profile well at either position at the present, but additional muscle mass will likely slow him down and limit his range and mobility in the future. Some have concerns that he may eventually be forced to move off of the left side of the infield altogether, but he should be able to man the hot corner for many years to come.

Reimer has a commitment to the University of Washington but has expressed his interest in skipping college and going professional.