Travis Snider was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays with the fourteenth overall selection in the 2006 amateur draft. Snider played his High School baseball at Jackson High, in the state of Washington. The selection of Snider broke a long running trend set by General Mangers JP Ricciardi, who in pure money ball fashion prefers to draft college players in the early rounds of a draft. In fact, outside of the selection of Snider, JP’s highest pick used on a high school player was 206th overall, in 2002.
One of the historical knocks against drafting a high school player with a high selection is that you will have to wait a few years for them to grow into their bodies. This should not be an issue for Snider, who stands at a height of 6 feet and a weight of 220 pounds. He even played running back and linebacker in high school. Baseball America ranked Snider as the fourth best high school player heading into the 2006 draft and he has done nothing to dispel his ranking. Below are his stats from short season Appalachian League rookie ball.
Travis Snider Stats:
| 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Team | League | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| PUL | APP (R) | .325 | 54 | 194 | 36 | 63 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 41 | 110 | 30 | 47 | 6 | 3 | .412 | .567 | .979 |
| Minors | .325 | 54 | 194 | 36 | 63 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 41 | 110 | 30 | 47 | 6 | 3 | .412 | .567 | .979 | |
Talk about some great stats from an 18 year old! Plenty of power, average, walks and he even threw in six steals.
| Splits: (Current team only) | ||||||||||||||||
| Entire Season | AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | CS | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| vs Left | .313 | 64 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 1 | .348 | .609 | .957 | |
| vs Right | .331 | 130 | 26 | 43 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 6 | 2 | .439 | .546 | .986 | |
When we look at his splits we have to be impressed with his .957 OPS vs. left handed pitchers. Now, if we had to pick on one thing it would be his walk to strikeout ratio against lhp, at a rate of 20:4. This would indicate that he isn’t picking up the ball as well out of a lefty’s hand as opposed to a righty’s but again this is a small sample and quite a small sticking point for a player that slugged .609 against left handed pitching. However, it will be an interesting area to keep an eye on in the near future. From what we have gathered at Mop Up Duty, Snider will not be participating in any winter leagues. With a promotion to low A all but assured for next season the future looks bright for Travis Snider and he will certainly be one prospect to keep an eye on.
Update:
Travis Snider won the 2006 Appalachian League MVP Award. He was also a first team outfielder. Good job, Travis!
Great article. He looks good, hopefully he keeps it up until he gets to the T-dot. Question though, what position does he play?
They are not sure yet. They say the D is pretty shaky right now, but maybe LF, 1B but I’d think he’ll be a DH.
I’d like to see him as a 1B or DH. However he has speed, and not that many people with speed are put at 1B. But I don’t see him having a future with us AS a right fielder. He has to be another position.
Currently he plays Right Field and has played all his games at Right Field.
He also has missed the past week or so with a wrist injury.
I left out RF in the reply, as I think he has no chance in playing RF in the majors. I’m surprised that they let him play there now. I guess at 18 he
can develop some defensive skills but it’s a good think he was drafted by an AL team.
Wow. How can you want to see a player at 1B or DH. Think about how much more valuable Papi would be if he wasn’t a DH. , if this stud at the plate can’t play in the field at 18 JP has to start looking elsewhere. They way teams win is by putting good clubhouse and veteran hitters (that have injuries) at 1st base and DH ie: 92 and 93 championship teams. If he is a great athlete why can’t he play outfield. If his arm is sour he should be able to shag and make diving catches due to superior atleticism.
I guess if Snider get’s his glove work up you could stick him in LF, but I hear is arm is below average. Also, I’d have to disagree with DH arguement. It’s not that difficult to go out and get another bat to play 1B. In the AL a total of 6 players have an OPS over 1.000. Three of them are full time DH’s. There replacements at 1B are Konerko, Youikils (sp) and Brossard/Garko/Martinez so far in Cleveland. All three of these 1B/DH combo’s are putting up monster stats. Now I can see that you’ll say “good veteran leadership in Thome & Papi” but Hafner (Majors Best 1.085 OPS) has only played 3.5 full seasons. A bat is a bat and as long as
you don’t get stuck with a Travis Lee type at first I don’t think the lose on D is that big of a deal. Hell, that DH hitter is going to have to come
from somewhere.
I just disapprove of one dimensional players. The Jays JohnnyMac is a solid SS, defineitly in the upper echelon in the AL. However, he can’t get a full time job, or a big contract because he is all glove and no bat. I feel the same way when it comes to the plate. If I were a manager I would rather have a veteran player at DH who has proven he play the field but has broken down in so many ways that he can still get around on a major league fastball but he can’t get around in the field ie Harold Baines, Jose Canseco, Frank Thomas, Dave Winfield etc etc etc. Veteran players can but a team over the top. Yes, it is to the Indians advantage to have a Hafner on the club and likewise with RSox and Papi. Wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to move Papi to a fielding position and the RSox go after a trading deadline monster veteran?
“Wouldn’t it have been nice to be able to move Papi to a fielding position and the RSox go after a trading deadline monster veteran? ” I agree but with a small market team like the Jays this may not be an option. By the way, your Hoy article is 61 on google.com and moving up. How about a Dummy Taylor article?
Ido not know where your resources come from but this kid has a good arm and plays defense extremely well.Mark my words you do not know what you are talking about Lets just see.He is also a very good first baseman,but what do I know,Iam his dad.
It was interesting reading the comments.I guess I came across pissed off,I was not.Lets just see how he progresses,and I will support him privately no matter if it is good or bad.I was only trying to be positve,and to think I was trying to convince everyone else was really not me.The proof will be in the pudding,in the up coming years.My son and I have always believed in that hard work and dedication will speak for itself and I was out of line with my comments .
Forgive us, Mr. Snider, as none of us at Mop Up Duty have had the pleasure of seeing your son play. However all we have to go on is the information provided to us through our research. I am on your side as I definitely hope that through his hard work and dedication he is able to make a contribution to my Jays in the not too distant future.
P.S. I had the pleasure of seeing your Son at the Rogers Centre as he won some sort of minor league award and was there to pick it up. I think he was the best dressed of the bunch. Maybe he takes his fashion tips from his Dad, we at mop up duty would like to know.
Hello
Great website! Bookmarked! I am impressed at your work!
this is awesome, I’ve going back through old articles you had sniders dad on here. time for a reprint I reckon.