#6 Prospect - Brandon Snyder

[Ruzious]

Bottom line - Reimold is 3 years older than Snyder and played just 1 level higher than he did - And their overall production was roughly equal. I think that alone makes it easy to choose Snyder ahead. The position thing is an issue, but I'm not sure Reimold is really that good an OFer. And the fact that they didn't move him around to LF or CF says something on the negative side.

This is where I had Snyder - the only difference so far being - I had Erbe where Rowell is. Hey, The Hangout misses one every once in a while.

[Frobby]

Although I voted for Erbe here, I am very excited about the Snyder pick. He was tremendous in the HWL last winter and came on very strong after a slow start at Frederick. And really it was more than a hot two months. He hit .292/.327/.479 in May and .326/.370/.442 in June. Just take away his ice cold April and he hit .323/.367/.542 the rest of the season.

I think the margin between Snyder and Reimold is thin, and it wouldn't have surprised me regardless of who was ranked first. Snyder's going to hit for a higher average, while Reimold will probably have a higher OBP and more power. I see them as complementary players to each other in our future lineup.

Here's the great thing: we don't have to argue about their comparative skills, we can start watching them both beginning today in the AFL. Reimold has put up .804 and .783 OPS in two prior AFL stints -- will Snyder surpass that in his first try in the AFL? Will Reimold perform substantially better? We'll find out!

In any event, Snyder has come a very long way in the last 12 months. Something tells me 2009 is going to be a banner year for him that will remove any lingering doubts about his prospect status.

[Flosman]

A question for the people that get to talk to O's staff or Tony? Do the O's think Snyder has fully gained all of his bat speed back from the shoulder problem? Does this play into the thinking the power will come over the next couple of years?

[Hank Scorpio]

Although I voted for Erbe here, I am very excited about the Snyder pick. He was tremendous in the HWL last winter and came on very strong after a slow start at Frederick. And really it was more than a hot two months. He hit .292/.327/.479 in May and .326/.370/.442 in June. Just take away his ice cold April and he hit .323/.367/.542 the rest of the season.

I think the margin between Snyder and Reimold is thin, and it wouldn't have surprised me regardless of who was ranked first. Snyder's going to hit for a higher average, while Reimold will probably have a higher OBP and more power. I see them as complementary players to each other in our future lineup.

Here's the great thing: we don't have to argue about their comparative skills, we can start watching them both beginning today in the AFL. Reimold has put up .804 and .783 OPS in two prior AFL stints -- will Snyder surpass that in his first try in the AFL? Will Reimold perform substantially better? We'll find out!

In any event, Snyder has come a very long way in the last 12 months. Something tells me 2009 is going to be a banner year for him that will remove any lingering doubts about his prospect status.

Wow, the AFL starts today?

That is exciting on an otherwise dull Tuesday.

[Tony-OH]

Tony, I can't really agree that Snyder has earned the right to pass Reimold as a prospect. He may some day, but he has not done it yet.

Snyder got almost 1/4 of his at bats at DH. He still commited 12 errors playing mostly first base. He does not show a level of accomplishment at a defensive position. It could hold him back. Add to that that he has not shown enough power to hold down a major league corner infield position and Snyder has alot to prove yet.

Don't get me wrong, I am not down on Snyder at all. He is 21, drafted as a high school player. He has time to develop. But he does not deserve to pass a more accomplished player like Reimold until he earns it.

Reimold has shown power at a higher level and commited only 4 error while getting almost all his at bats which playing in the outfield. He appears to be three good months from the majors if he can just do at AAA what he did at AA.

Health has been a problem for both these players and it has hindered their development. Hopefully that is behind them, but we don't know that for sure.

A major difference between these two players is that Reimold was drafted as a college player and Snyder as high school player. From that I would expect Snyder to take longer to develop. Thus his defense and power issues do not bother me yet. Nor does Reimold age. He started later in the minors and had some injury problems. That doesn't mean he does not have the talent to be a major league everyday player.

Tony, you have a huge advantage over me. I am looking at stats and you have seen the players play. So I guess I have to take your word that Snyder has a better chance for a better major league career. However, I do not think the stats support that analysis at this point is the two player's careers.

Good statistical analysis and really, Reimold and Snyder are very close as prospects. But in my opinion, Snyder makes much more hard contact than Reimold who does have the advantage of taking more walks and more raw power. Snyder put up some pretty impressive numbers last season,especially in the second half and his ability to hit for average is what separates him from Reimold a bit.

The other thing I took into consideration is the jump Snyder made in one year. When you have a former 1st round pick who looks like he's turned a major corner at the age of 21, you take notice. Reimold is what he is and he's yet to show the aptitude to change his holes in his game. Snyder on the other hand has shown tremendous aptitude for learning, for making adjustments.

Again, the list is on the merit of if I had to choose between the two players and I could only have one in my system, which would I take? In my opinion Snyder as the slightly higher ceiling we just don't know how good he can actually be. Most observers thought he could have played at Bowie over the last six weeks of the season and if had and put up good numbers, would that have changed your mind?

I understand the line of thinking that gives more weight to players at higher levels because they have proved they can play there, and that does go into my thinking, but in the end I have to put the guy I think will have the better major league career, and for me, it's Snyder by a nose.

[Lefty0315]

After looking at their stats does anybody else see Snyder being comprabale to a guy like Sean Casey?

[Tony-OH]

I don't think he is going to be doing those things if he is walking 20 times a year...He will get attacked more by better pitchers at higher levels.

Rob, anyone that knows me knows I'm a big BB-K ratio guy. In fact during our many conversations Joe Jordan made sure to point out that he knew LJ Hoes would be one of my guys because of my love for guys who take a walk.

Saying that, when looking at prospects statistics, you have to also consider batting average. Guys who don't walk much need to off set that by high batting averages and some power or speed. I'm wasn't thrilled with Snyder's lack of walks drawn, but what he did do was make consistent hard contact and showed good plate coverage.

What I think will happen is that his walk rate will actually improve next year in Double-A because pitchers have better control. He's not a hacker by any means, but a guy who was able to cover a lot of the plate and make good solid hard contact.

He also cut down his strikeout rate which was big for me as well. I can stomach a guy who doesn't walk a ton if he's not going to strike out a lot and hit for a high average with a lot of extra base hits. That's what Snyder did last year.

As for where he plays, I was told he improved a lot at first base and some believe he would do fine at 3B as well. I'd like to see if he could play 3B or even 2B and become more of Jeff Kent type guy. Offensively, I think Kent is a good comp for Snyder.

[Tony-OH]

Totally agree!! I don't see Synder on anybody's(BA, Sickels, BP, etc) top 10 list.

Would you like to bet something on that?

[mellon002]

Tony, when compiling this list, do you and your staff put more emphasis on players with a higher ceiling as opposed to results?

I feel like most national publications just look at the results and create their lists from what they read in the box score. It's almost as if they are willing to give up on a kid with massive potential if he struggles a little bit.

[Frobby]

[W]hen looking at prospects statistics, you have to also consider batting average. Guys who don't walk much need to off set that by high batting averages and some power or speed. I'm wasn't thrilled with Snyder's lack of walks drawn, but what he did do was make consistent hard contact and showed good plate coverage.

What I think will happen is that his walk rate will actually improve next year in Double-A because pitchers have better control. He's not a hacker by any means, but a guy who was able to cover a lot of the plate and make good solid hard contact.

He also cut down his strikeout rate which was big for me as well. I can stomach a guy who doesn't walk a ton if he's not going to strike out a lot and hit for a high average with a lot of extra base hits. That's what Snyder did last year.

I agree with all these points. Snyder can just flat-out hit the ball. I don't think he's ever going to show the plate discipline of a Wieters, Markakis or Reimold. But, he's going to hit for average and with solid if unspectacular power. Maybe a little more power than people around here seem to think.

It's important to keep in mind that a base hit is a bit more valuable than a walk. Therefore, as between a guy who hits .270/.360 (BA/OBP) and a guy who hits .310/.350, the guy who hits .310 is probably a bit more valuable (assuming SLG is equal).

[tywright]

I agree with this selection though I think Snyder should go #5 and Erbe #6. Rowell should have behind these guys. I'm starting to think Tony might be moving Reimold outside the top 10.

[Tony-OH]

A question for the people that get to talk to O's staff or Tony? Do the O's think Snyder has fully gained all of his bat speed back from the shoulder problem? Does this play into the thinking the power will come over the next couple of years?

From all accounts Snyder is back 100% healthy. The shoulder is no longer a limited factor. One scout told me 15-20 homers in the majors but I think he might have a little more than that in him.

[Tony-OH]

Tony, when compiling this list, do you and your staff put more emphasis on players with a higher ceiling as opposed to results?

I feel like most national publications just look at the results and create their lists from what they read in the box score. It's almost as if they are willing to give up on a kid with massive potential if he struggles a little bit.

Quite frankly, when I make my final list it comes down to who would I rather have? If I put a guy over a guy it's because if I were forced to have only one in the system who would I want?

Most of the time it's on overall ceiling, but you do have to take into consideration things like performance, age vs level, injuries, and intangibles like baseball smarts, instincts, and mound presence for pitchers.

Everyone that does this has their own way of doing things and mine has evolved over the years to where I'm pretty comfortable making our list and being able to build a case for our rankings.

People have made valid cases for where they would have placed players and that's all part of the fun.

[Sports Guy]

Saying that, when looking at prospects statistics, you have to also consider batting average. Guys who don't walk much need to off set that by high batting averages and some power or speed. I'm wasn't thrilled with Snyder's lack of walks drawn, but what he did do was make consistent hard contact and showed good plate coverage.

I totally agree with you...It is very important that you can have good contact. But this is also the first year he really showed this..I mean, he was ok last year and before that, he wasn't good..Now, of course you would hope he would get better and maybe he has since he is still young. That being said, he didn't hit that much higher than Reimold did this year and Reimold did with many more walks and at a higher level.

He also cut down his strikeout rate which was big for me as well. I can stomach a guy who doesn't walk a ton if he's not going to strike out a lot and hit for a high average with a lot of extra base hits. That's what Snyder did last year.

Reimold has done this as well and yet, you don't seem to have talked about it much for what i have seen and you have soured on Nolan more this year despite that.

The one thing is, Synder did walk more last year and if he can get his walks back up and combine it with the better stats at the higher level, then you have someone to really get excited about.

But for right now, I just think Reimold needs to be higher. However, I guess the age factor is reason enough to say that Synder should be ahead of him.

[Frobby]

I totally agree with you...It is very important that you can have good contact. But this is also the first year he really showed this...I mean, he was ok last year and before that, he wasn't good..Now, of course you would hope he would get better and maybe he has since he is still young. That being said, he didn't hit that much higher than Reimold did this year and Reimold did with many more walks and at a higher level.

......

Reimold has done this as well and yet, you don't seem to have talked about it much for what i have seen and you have soured on Nolan more this year despite that.

The one thing is, Synder did walk more last year and if he can get his walks back up and combine it with the better stats at the higher level, then you have someone to really get excited about.

But for right now, I just think Reimold needs to be higher. However, I guess the age factor is reason enough to say that Synder should be ahead of him.

On Snyder, I think you have to consider that .379 average he put up in the HWL in addition to the .315 in the Carolina League.

On Reimold, I agree that his ability to cut down on K's this year was a big development for him.

In both cases, they answered a lot of questions in 2008. In my mind they are neck and neck. I'd give Snyder the slight edge because we're still figuring out where his ceiling is. But I'm pleased with both of them. Hopefully both continue to pad their resumes in the AFL.