Travis Snider's "Red Flags"

by metafour on Sep 13, 2008 2:37 PM EDT Comment 3 comments

...are probably the most overblown I've seen in a long time.

Weight/Build? You'd think this kid was David Wells if you went by what some people write about him. He is NOT 245lbs+ or whatever some places want to list him at. He is 220-225lbs at most, not even fat....just naturally big/wide. His upper body/midsection isn't even that big, he has thick legs. Really nothing to worry about at all.

Defense/Mobility? He is an athletic 'big', he can move well, he runs the bases well and definitely isn't a base-clogger or even close to it (people seem to forget he hit something like 7+ triples in his first minor league season). Defensively he can definitely stay in the outfield, at worst he is an average-ranged LF with a plus arm. Any talk of him being a DH is ridiculous, he's not a plus defender by any means but he moves well enough and is better defensively at this point than Adam Lind ever was.

Strikeout issues? From what I've seen on the major league level his eye at the plate is very developed for a 20 year old. He stays quiet at the plate and doesn't flinch/look stupid on breaking balls. He takes pitches and knows what he wants to look for. He's going to strike out a decent amount because he is an aggressive hitter in the sense that he's going to swing at balls in the zone, however his pure hitting ability is so good that it is hardly anything to worry about...he can swing the bat and hit the ball, you can see that immediately just by watching him at the plate. As he matures he will only get better recognizing pitches and timing his swing. High strikeout rate is an issue when said player is an average hitter...when you have an elite hitter (and Snider flat out is, for a 20 year old he is phenomenal) it is simply not something that is going to "bust" him. His strikeout numbers this season in the minors were also magnified due to an elbow injury he suffered in spring training which forced him to DH exclusively for like a full month if not more...his strikeout rate during this period was incredibly high and obviously not normal.

Conclusion: Snider is going to rake, and rake big.

0 recs | Comment 3 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Well,

I don’t know how you can say how much he weighs unless he goes out and says it. And, it doesn’t matter that much because there have been plenty of fat hitters that have hit well.

As for his speed and range it’s much closer to fringe or adequate. I don’t have a sense of how accurate or strong his arm is.

The strikeouts do concern me. They were high last season and still are high (although they came down as the season progressed, so maybe some of that can be attributed to being injured). From what I’ve seen on TV, he strikes out more because he’s at times too passive. I wonder what his swing and miss rate is because I think that stat most closely reflects his ability to make contact and whether that K rate will come down with experience. So far it hasn’t caught up to him, but generally high K rate tend to mean that a particular prospect won’t hit for a high average at the next level.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farnsworth: Start the ship, Leela. Let's just steal the damn radar dish and get back to our own time.
Fry: But- But won't that change history?
Farnsworth: Oh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandpa! Let's get the hell out of here already! Screw history!

Farnsworth: You mustn't interfere with the past! Don't do anything that affects anything. Unless it turns out you were supposed to do it. In which case, for the love of God don't not do it!
Fry: Got it.
Farnsworth: If for example you were to kill your grandfather, you'd cease to exist.
Fry: (gasps) But existing is basically all I do.

by parrot11 on Sep 13, 2008 3:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, it's good to see him on the tube

Much faster than given credit for, also seems to take good routes and looks pretty comfortable out there. Definitely not 245, unless he’s 4 inches taller than 5’10’. Listen to this garbage about his high K rate enough. People forget he’s a 20 year old batting in double AA, er triple AA, er the majors. I guess he’ll probably improve somewhat by the time he’s 22 or 23, like the rest of the “studs” who are getting their first cup of coffee.

by Hearditbefore on Sep 13, 2008 11:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs