Brandon Snyder

[allstar1579]

Based on his strong season, his great showing in AZ, and looking like 2006 was just a lost injury year, do we think Snyder could be our version of Kevin Youkilis?

I know Snyder has a ways to go with the glove, but great average/obp, and actually has more pop in the minors than Youk ever did. Of course it'd be better if Snyder could handle 3B, but if he could put up Youkilis numbers at 1B would we be happy with that as a consolation if we lose out on Tex?

[Scrat1]

I'm hoping he replaces Huff at DH (because Tex is at first) when we let Huff walk for the picks.

[Crazysilver03]

I'm hoping he replaces Huff at DH (because Tex is at first) when we let Huff walk for the picks.

If the economy doesnt stabilize we might not get picks for Huff. Either he will be resigned at a lower contract rate (to reflect depreciation of economy) or he will not be offered arbitration because the Orioles will not risk having Huff come back at $9-10M for one year.

[Frobby]

Snyder won't have Youkilis' plate discipline, but he may hit for more power.

[clapdiddy]

If we sign Tex, I'd have Snyder playing third base the entire year at Bowie. If he shines at Bowie, he may be ready to step up to the big club in 2010, right when Melvin's contract is up.

If we don't sign Tex, and they feel he'd be better at first, then I'd have him at first base in Bowie for the season.

[RVAbird]

Based on his strong season, his great showing in AZ, and looking like 2006 was just a lost injury year, do we think Snyder could be our version of Kevin Youkilis?

I know Snyder has a ways to go with the glove, but great average/obp, and actually has more pop in the minors than Youk ever did. Of course it'd be better if Snyder could handle 3B, but if he could put up Youkilis numbers at 1B would we be happy with that as a consolation if we lose out on Tex?

Snyder is not likely to have a great OBP. He doesn't have great plate discipline and doesn't walk enough. He seems to make solid and consistent contact, so I could see him being a .300 hitter in the big leagues. If that's the case, he could post a .350 OBP, but it's not likely to get much better than that.

[ccbird]

I have not seen Snyder play at all and I'm just going on stats and scouting reports but the 1st Major League name that pops into my head when I think of a comp is Dmitri Young.

[allstar1579]

Snyder is not likely to have a great OBP. He doesn't have great plate discipline and doesn't walk enough. He seems to make solid and consistent contact, so I could see him being a .300 hitter in the big leagues. If that's the case, he could post a .350 OBP, but it's not likely to get much better than that.

.350 is a pretty freakin good OBP. I would gladly take it. Plate discipline usually comes with experience, but the biggest part of OBP% generally is the ability to hit for average, which he has shown.

His defense at 3B was pretty horrible, with a .933 FLD%, and looks like he could use some work at 1B still, but I dunno how I feel about him at DH because younger players generally have to be involved in both sides of the game in order to stay engaged, it usually takes a few years of experience to be able to stay locked in while sitting that other half.

[Lucky Jim]

.350 is a pretty freakin good OBP. I would gladly take it. Plate discipline usually comes with experience, but the biggest part of OBP% generally is the ability to hit for average, which he has shown.

His defense at 3B was pretty horrible, with a .933 FLD%, and looks like he could use some work at 1B still, but I dunno how I feel about him at DH because younger players generally have to be involved in both sides of the game in order to stay engaged, it usually takes a few years of experience to be able to stay locked in while sitting that other half.

There's really no evidence that he's going to be a good patience/discipline guy. And .350 certainly isn't "pretty freakin' good" for anyone who's a plus- player.

I'm not sure where you're getting this.

[allstar1579]

There's really no evidence that he's going to be a good patience/discipline guy. And .350 certainly isn't "pretty freakin' good" for anyone who's a plus- player.

I'm not sure where you're getting this.

There's rarely any evidence for anyone that young that they will be a good patience/discipline guy, and I'm not saying he'll ever be amazing at it, but it will improve with experience, it's just something that comes to ballplayers with repetitions at certain levels.

And a .350 OBP would have put Snyder 4th on our team this year had that been done in the majors. So if he does end up translating that to each level, I will gladly take it. It was better than J. Ellsbury put up in BOS.

If you have Mora putting up a .342 OBP and knocking in over 100 RBI because of who he was doing it behind, I think it's a pretty great. I actually think his numbers will come pretty close to Mora's (hopefully a few years ago) if he continues to develop, of course it's way too early to be projecting that, lets talk after this season.

[Lucky Jim]

There's rarely any evidence for anyone that young that they will be a good patience/discipline guy, and I'm not saying he'll ever be amazing at it, but it will improve with experience, it's just something that comes to ballplayers with repetitions at certain levels.

And a .350 OBP would have put Snyder 4th on our team this year had that been done in the majors. So if he does end up translating that to each level, I will gladly take it. It was better than J. Ellsbury put up in BOS.

If you have Mora putting up a .342 OBP and knocking in over 100 RBI because of who he was doing it behind, I think it's a pretty great. I actually think his numbers will come pretty close to Mora's (hopefully a few years ago) if he continues to develop, of course it's way too early to be projecting that, lets talk after this season.

This is, as far as I can tell, fundamentally untrue. Patience guys are - for the most part - always patient. Where are you getting this from? You compare him to Youkilis, but Youkilis had a career MiL OPS of .433!

SLG might develop late. There is literally no evidence that OBP develops in any (more than incremental) way over the course of a young player's career.

(Other high OBP guys this year: Carlos Quentin, .413 MiL OBP; BJ Upton, .390; Pedroia, .391)

Ellsbury had a .390 MiL OBP, btw.

[Lucky Jim]

One of my rare uses of exclamation points above. Fueled by bourbon, I confess. (No offense was intended by my excitability.) That said, I think OBP is really the limiting factor for Snyder because:

1. We know it's more important in producing runs than SLG; and

2. We know that it's rare to see enormous leaps in OBP over time.

Players are either patient or they're not. Snyder - so far - hasn't been. The good news is that, in recovering from injury, he's shown very rapid improvements in many areas. Which is a good sign.

Now, he may improve. But we need more guys like Nick - who have OBP .100 above their BA than guys like Miggy, with OBPs .050 above their BA. That's the ideal spread.

[allstar1579]

One of my rare uses of exclamation points above. Fueled by bourbon, I confess. (No offense was intended by my excitability.) That said, I think OBP is really the limiting factor for Snyder because:

1. We know it's more important in producing runs than SLG; and

2. We know that it's rare to see enormous leaps in OBP over time.

Players are either patient or they're not. Snyder - so far - hasn't been. The good news is that, in recovering from injury, he's shown very rapid improvements in many areas. Which is a good sign.

Now, he may improve. But we need more guys like Nick - who have OBP .100 above their BA than guys like Miggy, with OBPs .050 above their BA. That's the ideal spread.

It's ok, I don't get offended by good debates. I don't think you will see a huge leap in his OBP, but it is easier to start taking more walks than it is to make more contact with the ball. Snyder has easy .300+ potential, which when you are getting that kind of contact, and have a decent slot in the order, is when pitchers start to pitch you out of the zone. If you are a .250 hitter, they will challenge you in it more often, but if they think you will make contact, they will start throwing for the edges and getting you to chase. One of the reasons I say there is can be a jump in OBP, is because in the minors pitchers are trying to get by with their "stuff" you don't see TOO many guys that really know how to pitch, either they try to blow it past you, or they over match you with excellent breaking pitches, but most often when they are pitching out of the zone it is not intentional. (Not saying that a few really top guys don't have that sort of command, but generally, that also comes with experience, and is usually the reason why young pitchers get banged around in their first year or so in the majors).

Especially in the low minors a pitcher can pitch with their stuff and be effective, but when you get to the higher levels every one can hit that stuff, so they have to learn how to get guys to chase and swing and miss. That being said, most hitters don't get much chance to really learn to be patient until the higher levels because pitchers are either throwing out of the zone on purpose, or just throwing into the zone, so there is plenty to hit.

Maybe offensively Youk isn't the best comp, but I was thinking position wise, and a guy with not typical corner power, but good average. Maybe offensively he ends up closer to Mora than Youk, but either way, if he can continue to hit for a good average, and put up a .350 + OBP I will gladly take it. Like you said, ideally you want a guy to put up a +.100 OPP, but with the sad state of our team, if we could get some young homegrown talent to put up .350+ I would happily find a place in the lineup for it.

If Nick is putting up a .400+ OBP, Roberts is putting up a .380ish OBP and then Snyder hit behind them putting up .350+ with a little pop, that would translate to a good chunk of runs. Our offense was pretty good this year, with .342 and .360 hitting in those next two spots in the order (Mora, Huff).

[Lucky Jim]

It's ok, I don't get offended by good debates. I don't think you will see a huge leap in his OBP, but it is easier to start taking more walks than it is to make more contact with the ball. Snyder has easy .300+ potential, which when you are getting that kind of contact, and have a decent slot in the order, is when pitchers start to pitch you out of the zone. If you are a .250 hitter, they will challenge you in it more often, but if they think you will make contact, they will start throwing for the edges and getting you to chase. One of the reasons I say there is can be a jump in OBP, is because in the minors pitchers are trying to get by with their "stuff" you don't see TOO many guys that really know how to pitch, either they try to blow it past you, or they over match you with excellent breaking pitches, but most often when they are pitching out of the zone it is not intentional. (Not saying that a few really top guys don't have that sort of command, but generally, that also comes with experience, and is usually the reason why young pitchers get banged around in their first year or so in the majors).

Especially in the low minors a pitcher can pitch with their stuff and be effective, but when you get to the higher levels every one can hit that stuff, so they have to learn how to get guys to chase and swing and miss. That being said, most hitters don't get much chance to really learn to be patient until the higher levels because pitchers are either throwing out of the zone on purpose, or just throwing into the zone, so there is plenty to hit.

Maybe offensively Youk isn't the best comp, but I was thinking position wise, and a guy with not typical corner power, but good average. Maybe offensively he ends up closer to Mora than Youk, but either way, if he can continue to hit for a good average, and put up a .350 + OBP I will gladly take it. Like you said, ideally you want a guy to put up a +.100 OPP, but with the sad state of our team, if we could get some young homegrown talent to put up .350+ I would happily find a place in the lineup for it.

If Nick is putting up a .400+ OBP, Roberts is putting up a .380ish OBP and then Snyder hit behind them putting up .350+ with a little pop, that would translate to a good chunk of runs. Our offense was pretty good this year, with .342 and .360 hitting in those next two spots in the order (Mora, Huff).

Yeah - I doubt we're far off on where we see Snyder slotting down the line. To me, he's a classic #6 - a guy who should be able to put up about a .850 OPS (with an average line of just under .300/.350/.500) with a ton of doubles, HRs by the handful (15-20), and probably a good number of Ks.

If he can be a decent glove guy at first, a winning team can live with that, to be sure.

[Frobby]

You want a comp for Snyder? Aubrey Huff. Corrner IF, not particularly good with the glove, .287/.344/.483 career line. Since reaching his prime, he's had years as good as .311/.367/.555, and as bad as .261/.321/.428. I think Snyder's pretty similar.