Travis Snider: Shredder of Lumber
It wasn’t all that long ago when many were questioning whether Travis Snider would even make the Opening Day roster.
After a rough first couple of first weeks in Spring Training, there was a distinct possibility that he could have been taken out back and put through the proverbial wood chipper.
Now it’s Snider who is shredding the lumber.
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After swatting two home runs on Thursday’s game against the Orioles, Snider has bumped his batting average up to .273 thanks in part to three home runs in three straight at bats.
It may have taken him a little while to get warmed up, but does this mean the real Travis Snider has finally stood up?
Some believe that a huge part of this team’s success in 2010 hinges on whether or not Vernon Wells can step it up. On the other hand, I believe it rests on the shoulders of none other than the Great Big Giant White Pasty Hope (TM Tao of Stieb) himself, Travis Snider.
As the highest paid player on the roster for many years to come, financially the Blue Jays have a great deal invested in Vernon Wells. However, I believe the Blue Jays have much more invested in the future of Travis Snider.
Over the past two seasons, Travis Snider has been called up to the big leagues three times. And in each of those instances, he brought an air of hope with him that no other Blue Jay has duplicated in recent memory.
Even if the Blue Jays were completely out of contention, the news that Travis Snider would be added to the roster signalled a wave of enthusiasm and excitement to an otherwise inconsequential season.
It’s a similar feeling that fans will also hopefully get to experience when Brett Wallace and Kyle Drabek eventually make their major league debuts in the near future.
At 22 years old, the best years of Travis Snider’s career are still on the horizon. The future for him is as bright as his complexion.
The Kid is 22 not 21.
The Kid is a Kid. 22 year old Kids DO NOT lead their teams, 22 year old power hitters DO NOT do well.
BUT – Travis Snider is MORE than a good 22 year old soon to be power hitter. Travis just may be the very rare young power hitter who matures before his time. Could happen, not likely – but could happen.
Lets not jinx the guy by expecting his production to be what it might be when he turns 25 and becomes what he will be.
A great year for us this year would be finishing third, a good year would be finishing fourth, an OK year would be us finishing last with a least 5 or so of our youngsters showing serious growth.
I've seen the Kid in lots of pictures – none of them show him wearing a halo.
Let the Kid grow – at his pace – we'll be happy – I'm sure of it.
Mylegacy, dually noted. I have to keep reminding myself that Snider is a little older than he looks.
I don't want to peg all my hopes on Snider, but if he is going to spend the duration of the season with the Blue Jays, hopefully he has a half-decent season.
Yes, he is very young – but he's still logging service time. It would suck for Snider to finally hit his stride, and then only have two years before he is up for arbitration.
Well he was more than half decent in half a season last year, so I'd expect a little better than that this season. His OPS+ was 98 afterall. That's pretty much league average.
Gil, I'm not saying that Snider hasn't been impressive overall, it's just that we really need to see a full season of Snider as opposed to bits and pieces here and there.
Even if he is having a horrible start to the season, I would keep him on the roster this year because there is no better time to do it than now.
If Snider eventually fills the expectations on him I think we'll all be happy regardless of when it happens. This year, next or after that.