New Brandon Snyder thread.

[Baseball7117]

Actually he is a converted catcher. Third was just a position they try him out at once in a while.

I hear he played SS in high school. But doesnt everyone play SS in highschool?

Brandon played shortstop all the way up till his late years in high school, and was very good at it. I was kinda hoping because of this that they'd give him an extended look at 3B but it looks like we've hopefully found our solution there in Josh Bell.

[bandy75]

As for Snyder's lack of power, just remember that Raffy didn't hit a lot of homers when he first came up with Chicago. He became a very good power hitter! Oh wait!! . . . bad example . .ummm . . . never mind!! :wedge:

[Enjoy Terror]

Baltimore is being built for the National League it seems.

[allstar1579]

Errors tie directly into fielding percentage. I think we can agree on that. Casey Kotchman, slick fielding 1B, had a career minor league fielding pct. of .993 at 1B. Snyder, in his 3rd full year at 1B has progressed from .982 in 2007, to .986 in 2008, to a .990 in 2009. Clearly, there is a positive progression going on.

Yeah, it just comes with familiarity. 1B is a unique spot in the field because you have to play the hops not only off the bat but from guys throwing as well. Once you take enough reps there it's not too hard to get a feel for it and not make a bunch of errors, but he's just getting there now after playing there for the past 2 seasons. There is a LOT to think about at first because you are in on most every play in some way, either covering, backing up, cutting off, or making a PO yourself. I liked it because I got bored in the OF and needed to be engaged and on my toes to play my best, but that's just me, I don't know how other guys look at it.

[QSII]

There are 9 AL firstbasemen with at least 20 homers as of today. If you're trying to climb out of the basement, you better come up with more than 25 a season from that position.

I really like this kid. I'd be really happy if he becomes that player. He'll have to be replaced if he's not. That's (winning) sports.

[QBsILLEST1]

There are 9 AL firstbasemen with at least 20 homers as of today. If you're trying to climb out of the basement, you better come up with more than 25 a season from that position.

I really like this kid. I'd be really happy if he becomes that player. He'll have to be replaced if he's not. That's (winning) sports.

Dont worry, the kid has pop. I bet if he stayed in Bowie this whole season where the ballpark isnt homerun hell in right, hed have very close to 25 HRs. He has been developing the power over the last few years. Even last season in 08 where he hit 13 HRs, he was on a pace to come very close to 20 over a full MLB season.

What we need at 1B is not necessarily homerun power, we just need him to be able to hit and drive in runs. What if we had Markakis playing 1B, would you be opposed to hit because he only hits 20 HRs a season? I hope not, and thats basically what we are gonna be getting with Snyder, with less walks and a tad bit more power. Since we will be having above average power coming from catcher, LF,CF, DH, and possibly 3B we can afford to have the 1B be a hitting machine without as much pop as Dunn.

[Leitch]

There are 9 AL firstbasemen with at least 20 homers as of today. If you're trying to climb out of the basement, you better come up with more than 25 a season from that position.

There are 10 AL catchers with more than 300 plate appearances.

There are 4 with an OBP over .360.

There are 3 with a SLG over .500

There is one with more than 25 VORP.

So there's one advantage we'll enjoy.

[QSII]

What we need at 1B is not necessarily homerun power, we just need him to be able to hit and drive in runs. What if we had Markakis playing 1B, would you be opposed to hit because he only hits 20 HRs a season?

Yeah.:laughlol: We currently give away power at EVERY position, except CF. To pass the mean people who populate our division, we have to be plus at more positions than we are minus. By a fair margin. Then we have to outpitch them on top of it.

So, in the case of our 25 homer 1b, everybody else who matters(our division) has maybe a 35. That means you need a plus 10 somewhere else. To break even. The meanies are going to score runs. I don't think anybody can pitch them into oblivion for 162 games. We need runs to compete.

Even our 2Bman has the worst OPS of any team's 2b in our division. He's 14 points over his career average too. And we signed him to a contract for life! So that's one minus locked in.

None of this evaluation can happen in a vacuum. It's all relative.

[Mackus]

Yeah.:laughlol: We currently give away power at EVERY position, except CF. To pass the mean people who populate our division, we have to be plus at more positions than we are minus. By a fair margin. Then we have to outpitch them on top of it.

So, in the case of our 25 homer 1b, everybody else who matters(our division) has maybe a 35. That means you need a plus 10 somewhere else. To break even. The meanies are going to score runs. I don't think anybody can pitch them into oblivion for 162 games. We need runs to compete.

Even our 2Bman has the worst OPS of any team's 2b in our division. He's 14 points over his career average too. And we signed him to a contract for life! So that's one minus locked in.

None of this evaluation can happen in a vacuum. It's all relative.

Your last sentence is the only true thing you typed here.

Offense is all relative. We can get away with less than ideal power production from 1B if we're picking it up elsewhere.

What we have to do is outscore our opponents by ~150 runs. We can do that through either having a ridiculous offense and average to bad pitching, ridiculous pitching and average to bad offense, very good at both, there are dozens of ways. As long as the offense as a whole can score somewhere in the 850-900 run range most likely, we'll be just fine. And we can do that through a myriad of different ways, including having someone like Brandon Snyder at 1B. You are falling to the JTrea line of thinking in regards to needing to get a specific amount of production from each position, rather than a specific amount of production from your offense as a whole.

[MisterCrash]

VALUE IS VALUE. VALUE IS VALUE. REPEAT AFTER ME. VALUE IS VALUE.

If Snyder provides a lot of value through a high average, lots of walks, a decent glove, and decent running, WHO. CARES. if he hits 30 home runs? Runs added by hitting for average and walking count the same as runs added by home runs. If you take the "our 1B has to hit a ton of home runs!" approach, all you're going to do is let good players not get a chance, or let good FAs that you could have go because you're narrow mindedly convincing yourself that you have to have a certain type of player at a certain type of position.

Rod Carew is in the hall of fame and played 1200 games at first. He didn't hit 100 home runs in his entire career. I guess he sucks and isn't is a good 1B?

[Florida_Osfan]

There are 9 AL firstbasemen with at least 20 homers as of today. If you're trying to climb out of the basement, you better come up with more than 25 a season from that position.

I really like this kid. I'd be really happy if he becomes that player. He'll have to be replaced if he's not. That's (winning) sports.

What's with the blanket obsession for homerun hitters? I see the argument thrown around that our '1B needs to have this many HR, our 3B must provide this many,' when it's arbitrary and formulaic at best. There are so many ways a 1B, 3B, CF, etc. can provide runs for an offense. Snyder doesn't have to knock in 25 homeruns, like your list suggests, in order to be a valuable offensive weapon. If he hits 40 doubles, knocks in 90 RBI, or even just gets on base with heavy frequency, there is no need to "replace" him. Call me a fan of the small ball style of play--it can be just as productive and dangerous to opposing pitchers..

[Mackus]

What's with the blanket obsession for homerun hitters? I see the argument thrown around that our '1B needs to have this many HR, our 3B must provide this many,' when it's arbitrary and formulaic at best. There are so many ways a 1B, 3B, CF, etc. can provide runs for an offense. Snyder doesn't have to knock in 25 homeruns, like your list suggests, in order to be a valuable offensive weapon. If he hits 40 doubles, knocks in 90 RBI, or even just gets on base with heavy frequency, there is no need to "replace" him. Call me a fan of the small ball style of play--it can be just as productive and dangerous to opposing pitchers..

Guys with lower HR totals but good doubles power, batting average, and most importantly OBP isn't even small ball. Bunting guys around the bases is small ball, and only smart when you really, really need to get that one run in.

[QBsILLEST1]

Yeah.:laughlol: We currently give away power at EVERY position, except CF. To pass the mean people who populate our division, we have to be plus at more positions than we are minus. By a fair margin. Then we have to outpitch them on top of it.

So, in the case of our 25 homer 1b, everybody else who matters(our division) has maybe a 35. That means you need a plus 10 somewhere else. To break even. The meanies are going to score runs. I don't think anybody can pitch them into oblivion for 162 games. We need runs to compete.

Even our 2Bman has the worst OPS of any team's 2b in our division. He's 14 points over his career average too. And we signed him to a contract for life! So that's one minus locked in.

None of this evaluation can happen in a vacuum. It's all relative.

So you think Roberts is what a below average 2B? The dude is gonna end the season with a BA around .300 over 25 SB's, he sets the table for the offense and is able to switch hit. Not to mention he can take a walk and has a good OBP. Just because his OPS doesnt match with Cano's or Pedroia's and you think hes a minus? Hes having a down year, but he is considered as one of the top 4 2B's in the AL, so rather than focus on one thing look at the big picture. Also, unless our 1B is the only one batting for the entire game, his HR production is merely unimportant.

Your last sentence is the only true thing you typed here.

Offense is all relative. We can get away with less than ideal power production from 1B if we're picking it up elsewhere.

What we have to do is outscore our opponents by ~150 runs. We can do that through either having a ridiculous offense and average to bad pitching, ridiculous pitching and average to bad offense, very good at both, there are dozens of ways. As long as the offense as a whole can score somewhere in the 850-900 run range most likely, we'll be just fine. And we can do that through a myriad of different ways, including having someone like Brandon Snyder at 1B. You are falling to the JTrea line of thinking in regards to needing to get a specific amount of production from each position, rather than a specific amount of production from your offense as a whole.

Exactly, what matters is the offense as a whole. And more importantly, it seems that QSII thinks the only way to score runs is by the long ball. IMO a Snyder who hits .310 25 120, and hits 35-40 doubles and provides average defense at 1B is equally as valuable to a guy like Dunn who gives you .230 40 120 with below average defense at any position.

[QSII]

Exactly, what matters is the offense as a whole. And more importantly, it seems that QSII thinks the only way to score runs is by the long ball. IMO a Snyder who hits .310 25 120, and hits 35-40 doubles and provides average defense at 1B is equally as valuable to a guy like Dunn who gives you .230 40 120 with below average defense at any position.

But not as valuable as Teixeira.:laughlol: And there's the rub. You pretty much have to match up position by position with those other teams, and see where you come out. You can't come out behind every time. We do. We project to continue. 'Cept pitching, and that's always a maybe. People who can sign Sabathia or Burnett every year are hard to catch.

Regarding power hitting. If everybody else can do it, they're gonna beat our small ball butt. No defensing the long ball. That's why moneyball Earl loved the three run homer. That quote above projects Snyder to hit less doubles than Tex hits homers. That comp just won't work. We are outgunned at almost every position, and projecting another case as somehow a positive.

[Mackus]

But not as valuable as Teixeira.:laughlol: And there's the rub. You pretty much have to match up position by position with those other teams, and see where you come out. You can't come out behind every time. We do. We project to continue. 'Cept pitching, and that's always a maybe. People who can sign Sabathia or Burnett every year are hard to catch.

Regarding power hitting. If everybody else can do it, they're gonna beat our small ball butt. No defensing the long ball. That's why moneyball Earl loved the three run homer. That quote above projects Snyder to hit less doubles than Tex hits homers. That comp just won't work.

But we don't come out behind at every position.

We are going to come out way ahead at C, ahead in RF, ahead in CF, even at 2B probably, maybe ahead or at least even at LF. We are going to need to sign some big guys or develop something nice, particularly at 1B, 3B, and SS.

Again, it doesn't matter how we match up with them at each position. All that matters is that we match up with them reasonably well as an offense as a whole. Now, inherently that will mean we'll have some positions taht are better and some that are worse. But you can't say "hey we aren't as good at 1B as them, so we're definitely not going to be able to compete".