Brandon Snyder blog

[YardBirds13]

Yeah, I'm from Northern VA, and my younger brother is the same age as Brandon, and played travel ball against him (and Justin Upton.) I also believe Justin and Brandon played on a AAU-All-Star team together when they were 14 or so.

So funny seeing those two now, as at the time it was so obvious they were the two best players in the state. At the time, Brandon was clearly the better player IMO. Funny when Justin went #1 and Brandon fell to us, my Dad (who coached my brother's team) was shocked. He said, did something happen, because Snyder was the best player in the state from about age 14-16.

Really cool Brandon is doing that, I've only seen him in passing, and that was a long time ago, but he seems like a great guy. Hopefully he is in Baltimore sooner rather than later.

[CrimsonTribe]

Are you sure that the latter doesn't own a horse? Have you been scoping his house out for some free remodeling tips? LOL sorry had to say something about this LOL.:laughlol:

The latter being "others," plural. The others don't even own a horse. I think it works. If not, well played.

[oriolesfanatic9]

The latter being "others," plural. The others don't even own a horse. I think it works. If not, well played.

I thank ya lol....I do my best to keep my comedy fresh lol, sometimes though it just does not work. Thanks for the compliment though.

[Frobby]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but Snyder invited fans to send him questions and he answered a lot of them on his blog. I thought everyone would be amused by this entry:

By alex0666...I was wondering,

do any of you guys read websites like orioleshangout or camdenchat to see what the fans think of you?

I actually try to stay off those sites. A lot of times people dont know the first thing about what or who they are talking about. Im not saying all the time but I truely believe you should know a person before you put labels on them. It doesnt bother me what people say about me good or bad but I have been praised and then written off so many times I just stopped looking at them. I know the kind of player I am and most importantly person I am and to me thats all that matters.

I can't say I blame him. Tony and the OH staff are always very measured in what they say about our prospects, and don't overreact when a talented player has a down year, but I can't say the same for the rest of us, me included.

[AVencill]

I guess alex didn't have the chance to read my article on Snyder earlier in the year. He doesn't look at the site, but he gets regular updates about what people are saying about him from various sources.

[NCRaven]

Update -

In his latest blog, Brandon also pointed out that the O's still want him to get time at 3B but it's difficult for everyone to get time with so many good players on the team. Wes Hodges is playing at 3B and Beau Mills and Justin Smoak are also getting time at 1B. Snyder's taking infield practice every day at 3B and says he feels very comfortable there.

This will be O's biggest positional hole to fill after '09 and I hope that Snyder gets some serious consideration there. I'm still not sure how a former first round pick that hit .315 with an .848 OPS in the Carolina League (Hi-A) at 21 years old and is now hitting .375 with a 1.101 OPS against advance competition in the AFL didn't get a Rising Stars invitation. Oh, he's also one of very few players in this league with no AA experience and he seems to be handling it just fine.

[Frobby]

I'm still not sure how a former first round pick that hit .315 with an .848 OPS in the Carolina League (Hi-A) at 21 years old and is now hitting .375 with a 1.101 OPS against advance competition in the AFL didn't get a Rising Stars invitation.

I don't think performance in the AFL has anything to do with who gets a Rising Stars invitation. They had been playing, what, two weeks when that team was selected? It has everything to do with where these guys would rank on someone's top 100 list. It's doubtful Snyder appears on any such lists this winter.

That said, personally I'm sky-high on him. What he's done in Hawaii last winter, in the Carolina League and now in the AFL has firmly cemented my opinion that he'll be an above average major league hitter.

[baseball4evr17]

When people say they think Brandon will eventually end up at first base, what do they think is holding him back from being an acceptable third basemen? Aubrey Huff has played third base in almost 100 games (86, 73) in a few seasons. If Brandon can progress enough defensively to be at a similar level as Huff, would that be good enough for him to permanently make the shift to third?

[LookinUp]

When people say they think Brandon will eventually end up at first base, what do they think is holding him back from being an acceptable third basemen? Aubrey Huff has played third base in almost 100 games (86, 73) in a few seasons. If Brandon can progress enough defensively to be at a similar level as Huff, would that be good enough for him to permanently make the shift to third?

It seems like the prognisticators think that Brandon will move to third if we get Teixeira. If not, I think a move to third is still possible since it's also possible that Rowell could see an eventual move to first.

Either way, if Snyder moves to third that quickly, it becomes our deepest prospect position in the minors outside of pitching. Snyder, Rowell, Henson and Kolodny is a list that should provide at least one ML regular with good potential.

[Frobby]

Snyder has a new blog entry where he answers some new fan questions. Thought this bit was interesting:

Have the Orioles given you a clear plan as to how they want to progress you through the farm system? Do you know what you need to accomplish in order to get to the next level?

The communication in our organization is not always the best and to be honest I do not know what their plan is for me. I know what I need to do and I believe it has a lot to do with my defense. Out of high school I was one of the top three defensive players in the draft and I don't believe I have lost that. I just need to get more comfortable at the positions im playing and go from there. Everyday I am at the field I work at both first and third to make sure im getting better each day.

http://aflorioles.mlblogs.com/

He also mentions that he's getting tired and his back is starting to bother him. If that's the case the O's should just get him out of there.

[LookinUp]

Snyder has a new blog entry where he answers some new fan questions. Thought this bit was interesting:

http://aflorioles.mlblogs.com/

He also mentions that he's getting tired and his back is starting to bother him. If that's the case the O's should just get him out of there.

The Stockstill rumors seem to be making more and more sense. It's a real shame if PA isn't letting AM get this house in order.

[RVAbird]

Snyder has a new blog entry where he answers some new fan questions. Thought this bit was interesting:

http://aflorioles.mlblogs.com/

He also mentions that he's getting tired and his back is starting to bother him. If that's the case the O's should just get him out of there.

This is absolutely terrible to hear, but not at all surprising. The lack of communication and unified direction within the organization needs to be fixed ASAP. If MacPhail can't do that, he should be fired. If he wants to and someone/something is holding him back, we're doomed.

[Frobby]

This is absolutely terrible to hear, but not at all surprising. The lack of communication and unified direction within the organization needs to be fixed ASAP. If MacPhail can't do that, he should be fired. If he wants to and someone/something is holding him back, we're doomed.

I think you have to take what Snyder said there with a grain of salt. In an earlier blog entry he said this:

Do you have instructions from Dave Stockstill or your Keys' coaches to work on anything specific while in Arizona?

Before we came out we sat down with Stockstill and went over specific things they want us to work on. For me getting innings at first and third base and being able to improve my footwork are huge parts for me. Also being able to have at bats against this quality of pitching is something in itself. As for third its been hard to get into games because of the limited innings and quantity of players. However i have been working at third every day before games and it is comeing along very well and i actually feel much more comfertable at the "hot" corner.

So it's not like he is getting no direction at all.

[RVAbird]

I think you have to take what Snyder said there with a grain of salt. In an earlier blog entry he said this:

So it's not like he is getting no direction at all.

Yeah...I was partially engaging in some knee-jerk hyperbole just for the heck of it because it feels so good. Maybe we're not doomed...

BUT I feel like this has been a pretty well-documented problem within the organization for some time now and I do think it's imperative that something be done about it ASAP.

[Frobby]

Brandon Snyder's final blog entry can be found here: http://aflorioles.mlblogs.com/ He refers to a family from Hawaii that became big fans of his last year, who came to visit him in Arizona. I'm pretty sure that the mom in that family posted on OH a few times last season and even sent some video of some of his HWL ABs.

If I learned one thing from Brandon's blog this fall, it is that this kid is humble and doesn't think that he's hot stuff just because he plays baseball. He really seems like the kind of guy who is very easy to root for. Which is what I'll be doing.