Rattlers outfielder Demi Orimoloye has high ceiling

GRAND CHUTE – There are high-ceiling prospects and then there are those whose potential extends through the roof and into the clouds.

That's the kind of upside Demi Orimoloye has.

The 20-year-old Wisconsin Timber Rattlers outfielder has the type of tools that gets player personnel people buzzing.

Orimoloye has an impressive combination of size, strength and speed, and is an exciting player who could find a future home at Miller Park.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Orimoloye (pronounced Ora-ma-loi) has shown both power (16 home runs) and base-stealing ability (39 stolen bases) in his first 107 professional games, along with a powerful right arm. The Nigerian-born Orimoloye has so much size and athleticism to work with that some scouts have compared him physically to Bo Jackson.

"The first thing that stands out about him is his body,” said Wisconsin manager Matt Erickson. “He’s a big, explosive kid. He was raised in Canada and there’s not a tremendous amount of baseball experience in his upbringing. But you can see the upside to his game. His physical skills are impressive. We’re trying to turn his athleticism into baseball skills.”

A fourth-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015, Orimoloye is hitting .300 with five home runs and an impressive slugging percentage of .660. Making better contact (15 strikeouts in 14 games) figures to be a key for him the rest of the season.

Orimoloye, who has played primarily right field for the Rattlers, is ranked as the Brewers' 24th best prospect by MLB Pipeline and 27th by Baseball America.

Q: Is Demi a nickname? If so, how did you get it?

A: “It’s the middle part of my first name, Oluwademilade Oluwadamilola. I’ve gone by Demi pretty much my whole life.”

Q: You were born in (Lagos) Nigeria and raised in Canada. At what age did you move?

A: “I was 1 when my parents and I moved to Toronto. It was work-related. My dad is an architect and my mom works for Health Canada.”

Q: Have you returned to Africa?

A: “I went back to visit for a couple weeks when I was 6. We went back to the same city where I was born and stayed at my grandma’s house. It was fun. I can’t remember everything, but I do remember going to the corner store and getting popsicles. There is not a lot of time right now, but I’d like to go back some day.”

Q: You have a chance to become the first African-born major leaguer. What would that mean to you?

A: “That would cool. I never knew leading up to the draft that would be a thing. It would be awesome.”

Q: What was it like growing up in the Canada?

A: “I grew up in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, and it’s a nice place. I had a lot of friends. There’s a lot of hockey there."

Q: So are you a hockey guy?

A: "Baseball was always the thing for me and my friends. I never really played hockey. I’d go to an outdoor rink with my friends to skate around and play a little (hockey) for fun, but nothing serious.”

Q: With your Canadian background, few players on this team are probably better equipped for Wisconsin’s cold spring weather. How nasty were the winters in Canada?

A: “Personally, I don’t like the cold, but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced before. I remember walking to school when it was minus 33 with wind gusts. It wasn’t like that all the time, but there were days when it was pretty bad.”

Q: Did you play any other sports in high school?

A: “I played basketball from sixth grade all the way through high school. I was a power forward and center, a guy who could jump and get the rebounds. I played some football. I was a tight end and a defensive end. And I ran the 60 meters in track. But I wasn’t really recruited in other sports. I was a baseball player and everyone knew that.”

Q: You played on Canadian national teams as a teen. What type of experience was that?

A: “A lot of fun. That’s when I started taking baseball seriously. I went to Taiwan my first year for the world championships and played in Australia, Cuba, Japan, the Dominican Republic three times, Mexico and Florida a bunch of times. It was pretty exciting, just seeing what was out there in the world. I went straight from Little League to the national team and went from facing pitching that was like 83 (mph) to the 90s. The first game I played was against one of the Houston Astros teams in the fall instructional league. The first pitch I saw was like a 94-mile-per-hour sinker. I grounded out and I was so happy just to do that.”

Q: What was the most memorable place you played at?

A: “Japan, definitely. Great fans. They’re loud, but always very respectful. Taiwan was pretty cool, too. I remember once when we were in Taiwan, my teammate and I missed the bus back to the hotel. Some fan just drove us all the way back to the hotel. He was so excited to drive us.”

Q: Some scouts have compared you athletically to Bo Jackson. That’s high praise. How do you feel about that?

A: “Some of my teammates joke a little about that, calling me Bo sometimes. I’m like, ‘Aw, come on, stop.’ It’s fun when people say stuff like that, and very flattering.”

Q: What’s been your biggest challenge in pro ball so far?

A: “Learning to have a short memory. You can go 0-for-4 one day and 4-for-4 the next. If you have a bad week, there’s another one coming up. There’s always the next day.”

Q: What do you want to get accomplish this summer in Grand Chute?

A: “Hit some home runs, steal a lot of bases and just be a great teammate. I want to win. I want to win the Midwest League and grow as a player.”

The Tool Box: “He’s one of those kids that you get at this level who’s a little younger and there are going to be a lot of challenges for him. But at the same time, dealing with some of that adversity is going to be huge for his development. He can really run. His arm strength is above average. When you come out and watch him in practice, he plays pretty loose, pretty free. In the games, he’s still a little bit tentative. Once he gets into those game situations and gains that pre-pitch knowledge, I think you’ll start to see him play a little bit faster. And it’s not just him. It’s a lot of young guys who are here. It’s going to be fun to watch Demi grow up through the season and in the next few years. I expect his baseball skills to really improve.” Matt Erickson, Timber Rattlers manager

Demi Orimoloye

Position: Outfielder,

Age: 20,

Residence: Orleans, Ontario,

Height/weight: 6-4, 225,

Bats/throws: Right/right,

Acquired: Selected by Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 2015 first-year player draft.

FAVORITES

MLB team growing up: "Boston Red Sox. My Little League team was the Orleans Red Sox, so they were an easy team to follow.”

MLB player: "Probably Alex Rodriguez. I just liked to watch him hit home runs. I didn’t know that he started his career around here. I knew David Ortiz played here.”

Food: "I like Italian food a lot. Chicken parm, spaghetti and meatballs, all that stuff.”

TV show: “Right now, I’m watching Arrow on Netflix.”

Musical artist/group: Drake.

Hobbies outside baseball: "Any sport, basketball, football. I like ping pong a lot. I love watching movies."

Advice: "Take everything baseball-wise day to day.”

Tim Froberg: 920-993-7183 or tfroberg@postcrescent.com; on Twitter @twfroberg