Jaff Decker = Travis Snider?

by Dewey Finn on Jul 21, 2025 1:17 AM EDT Comment 27 comments

I know its probably too early to make such a comparison, but I see some interesting similarities between the two. Physically, they are both short and thick left-handed hitters with a lot of power. Niether is all that good defensively. This obviously isn't much to go on, but statistically speaking, if you look at their age 19 seasons in the MWL:

Snider: 118 G, 457 AB, 35 2B, 16 HR, 49 BB, 129 K. .313/.377/.525/.902, .212 ISOP

Decker: 61 G, 207 AB, 15 2B, 11 HR, 54 BB, 50 K, .295/.448/.527/.974, .232 ISOP

I honestly don't know how much of a factor their home parks played, however, based on these stats, Decker is very comparable to Travis Snider IMO, with perhaps more power and definitely better plate discipline.

What are your thoughts on this? Am I way off-base? I think Jaff Decker is severly underrated.

3 recs | Comment 27 comments | Add comment

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Similar, but...

Decker with 5 more walks in 250 less AB’s? That is a HUGE difference…

by valley on Jul 21, 2025 1:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Im the leader of the Jaff Decker fan club

First because i can wait to hear all the announcers mess up his first name but more importantly i just think the guy is a beast offensive player. If he was a top 10 pick in a draft hed already be considered a top 10-15 prospect. Regardless while Snider is a great prospect its not like you compared him to WIllie Mays so i dont think you jumped the gun at all and offensively i believe Decker can hold his own with most any 19 yr old prospect playin the game right now.

by tulolince on Jul 21, 2025 1:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no way

ask my friends. I am the leader of the Jaff Decker fan club.

by richieabernathy on Jul 21, 2025 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

my friend

was working for the padres when they drafted decker… the day after the draft i asked him who decker was and he sent me this video

this was how i was introduced the decker… the white kirby puckett

by gorilla_baller on Jul 21, 2025 9:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

didn't puckett walk way less?

"Sometimes Joe (morgan) doesn't like facts to get in the way of his opinions."- billy beane
"That was a great pick...if this was 2002" Me, to guy who selected Barry Zito in a fantasy draft
www.27ClubPeak.blogspot.com

by harendaman365 on Jul 21, 2025 11:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i meant

body type-wise… puckett didn’t always look like a cf but he played there the bulk of his career… decker has a similar build (short, stocky) while still displaying good enough athleticism… i had read some scouting reports early on saying that he could more than hold his own in a cof position… and i’d have to check but i seem to recall that he even played some cf when he was first drafted

by gorilla_baller on Jul 21, 2025 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

well I got a ton of concerns about Snider.

I hope this is a bad compairison

by novaoakland on Jul 21, 2025 9:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I like Decker, but...

He’s had some home field advantages, and I do worry slightly about a guy who’s 5’10 with baby fat.

by aap212 on Jul 21, 2025 11:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i think that will depend

on how good he actually can hit because if he is just an ok hitter, then his defense, base running, etc. will matter more. prince fielder, for instance… who cares? the guy is so talented with the bat that the short, fat body makes no difference.

by richieabernathy on Jul 21, 2025 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fort Wayne

is a TOUGH hitters park… He’ll put up MONSTER numbers in Lake Elsinore next year (which is tough on RH hitters but not so much lefties)…

by pffriberg on Jul 21, 2025 6:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm a believer in decker

that kind of plate discipline is special (though i guess not too special, since, in addition to decker, i’ve also got tyler flowers (and his 57:79 K:BB ratio) and logan forsythe (and his 72:64 K:BB ratio)).

i’m really happy with the team i’ve created. now if ty wigginton, kelly shoppach, and elijah dukes would just shape up, i might have a 5 year run of dominance.

human beings, who are almost unique in their ability to learn from the experiences of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

by variablesdont on Jul 21, 2025 11:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Decker hit even better last year

He won the short season MVP and put up better numbers than every high school hitter from last year’s draft. I think he’s seriously under valued because of how he looks, where he was drafted, and because he plays for the padres. IMO he’s a future all-star.

by johnnycomelately9 on Jul 21, 2025 12:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jul 21, 2025 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seriously? We're still reccing awful Dewey posts?

That got old a couple months ago, didn’t it?

by RedSoxFaithful on Jul 21, 2025 2:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

uh... what?

Dude, what’s your issue with this post? Why is it “awful”? The reccing thing did get quite ridiculous a little while back, but here I thought I provided a valid comparison of Decker & Snider to discuss. Snider was widely considered to be an elite hitting prospect, and I feel that Decker has that potential as well based on his performance thus far in the MWL.

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jul 21, 2025 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Open your eyes.

This might not have been an awful post, but it certainly was nothing special, and your equally mediocre Moustakas vs. Chisenhall post already has 2 recs. It has nothing to do with the content of your posts.

As for this actual topic, Decker is a safer bet to be productive in the long-term because of the discipline, but Snider has more upside. Personally, I think I would take Decker between the two of them, and I still have Snider as a top 10 prospect, so I think my love of Decker is clear.

by RedSoxFaithful on Jul 22, 2025 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

Since Dewey has seemed to forgotten about his anti-Colby Rasmus sentiment he displayed early this year. And because it seems like Dewey is wrong much of the time when giving his opinions. I’m going to assume that Jaff Decker never makes it out of A ball. It seems like the rational conclusion in this situation, doesn’t it?

Or I could simply be concluding it out of spite for everything Dewey.

by CoolCat23 on Jul 22, 2025 3:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL

If I hit in front of Albert Pujols, I’m sure I can put up decent #s too with all those fastballs he’s seeing. The .182 avg vs lefties suggests that Rasmus still has a lot of work to do. Has he exceeded my expectations? Sure.

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jul 22, 2025 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 22, 2025 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

LOL

by slurve on Jul 22, 2025 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rasmus

Rasmus has seen fastballs on 57.1% of pitches faced, which is in the lowest 1/3rd of all hitters with over 250 PAs.

And both UZR and RZR have him as one of the best defenders in all of baseball. So even if he’s got “a lot of work to do”, he’s still been one of the best players in the game so far this season.

by jibs on Jul 22, 2025 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Shh

Don’t poke the hibernating bear with the facts.

I reject your reality and substitute my own.

by WayneCampbell08 on Jul 25, 2025 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

you amuse me

You’re like a lil poodle that barks at the Pit Bull that is chained up or in a cage.

Now raise your goblet of rock. It's a toast to those who rock!

by Dewey Finn on Jul 25, 2025 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Snider's Defense

I don’t know why so many people say Snider isn’t good on defense, because it completely contradicts everything he showed fans in his stint in the Majors. The guy was making unbelieveable catches.

You can check out a few here: http://mlb.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?text=Travis%2BSnider%2BDefense&x=85&y=15

And my personal favorite: http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=4384779

by Lapointe_05 on Jul 22, 2025 5:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Snider's career

Not to hijack the thread, but what does everybody think Snider’s career is going to look like, specifically his slash lines for an average season and at his peak. Here are my thoughts:

Average Season: .270/.340/.575
Peak Season: .280/.355/.650

Disclaimer: I am picking these numbers out of my a$$ - I have not done any calculations, so please don’t come back and say that he would need a gazillion BBs to get that OBP or anything like that.

by rmarx01 on Jul 22, 2025 5:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, that's possible

But that’s awfully, awfully optimistic. To give you a sense, that’s not incredibly far from Ken Griffey Jr.’s results (average season .286/.371/.542, and best season, say, .304/.382/.646)

TheSouthWing.com - A Magazine of essays, prose and poems

by OldProspects on Jul 24, 2025 12:19 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs