Just noticed it tonight, but Yahoo’s Jeff Passan did a story last week on Travis Snider and the personal issues he was forced to deal with before he turned 21. I had no idea things were so difficult for him. Kudos to him for overcoming the tough times and making something of himself.
Posts Tagged ‘Travis Snider’
16 Apr
Now Pitching For The Oakland Athletics…
The Oakland A’s landed four pitching prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100 list this offseason. One, Gio Gonzalez, appeared in ten games for the major league club last season; a second, Michael Inoa, won’t turn 17 until freakin’ September – he’s still young enough to be counting his age in half years – and shouldn’t sniff the majors until 2011 at the earliest.
The last two, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill, both turned 21 over the winter (on February 1 and March 1, respectively) and, despite a paucity of experience above the lower minor league levels, earned spots in Oakland’s starting rotation out of spring training.
Both pitchers boast career minor league stats that shape up as those cool lines that I always enjoy, where the totals could easily be mistaken for a single outstanding campaign. In Cahill’s case: 22-9, 2.68 ERA, 264 strikeouts in 238.2 innings, 1.089 WHIP. Anderson: 22-12, 3.36 ERA, 243 strikeouts in 225.1 innings. They be solid, yo.
Ready or not, here they come. Cahill debuted on April 7 with a respectable outing against the Los Angeles Angels – three runs on five hits and five walks in five innings – before losing a 1-0 duel to Erik Bedard in his second appearance (one run, two hits, three walks, three strikeouts in seven innings). Anderson made his own debut three days later, allowing five runs on seven hits in six innings of a 5-4 loss to the Mariners. Like Cahill, his second game was much better – he limited the Red Sox to two runs on five hits in seven innings while striking out five – but, like Cahill, he was the tough-luck loser when the opposing pitcher (in this case, Tim Wakefield) worked a gem.
Two other guys on Baseball America’s list who deserved one of these posts but won’t get it because they’ve played a few games and I feel I’ve missed the boat: St. Louis’s Colby Rasmus, who has a great baseball name and was the number three overall prospect, and Toronto’s Travis Snider, who rolled from Dunedin to New Hampshire to Syracuse to Toronto without missing a beat in 2008 and was rewarded with the sixth spot on the list this year. (Fun note: Snider was born the day after Anderson – February 2, 1988.) Snider is also the first top prospect that I saw play in the minor leagues.
29 Aug
Now Batting For The Toronto Blue Jays
Been awhile since I’ve done one of these…
About six weeks ago, I watched Travis Snider crush pitch after pitch after pitch – something like ten in all – over the right field wall at Manchester’s Merchantsauto.com Stadium. It was obvious the kid, who I rechristened “Wayne” after realizing that he wore number 99, could hit the ball a long, long way.
Shortly thereafter, Snider was summoned to Syracuse, where he played eighteen games, and on Thursday he made the final leap, receiving the call from the Blue Jays. His arrival in Toronto caps a meteoric rise that began this season at Class A Dunedin and ends on the turf at Rogers Centre. Not bad for a 20-year-old kid.
To make room for Snider, the ageless Matt Stairs was designated for assignment (and, from the tone of that article, handled it very professionally) and is likely be traded.
7 Aug
Travis Snider is Inching Toward Ontario
Kudos to OMDQ for making it out to see Travis Snider win the AA Home Run Derby. Because the slugger is back, back, back, GONE!
Reports from the Fisher Cats, who gave Snider a home for 98 games this season, indicate that Snider is on his way to the AAA Syracuse Chiefs. I took the liberty of making a google map of Snider’s summer, and it gives a pretty good graphic representation of the leaps and bounds the DH has made this season.
He started in the swampy heat of Florida, with the Dunedin Bluejays. After just 17 games, Snider got the call to AA with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. That got him as far north as he needed to go, but this westward jaunt to Syracuse, NY puts him about 200 miles away from his most-hoped-for destination: the Toronto Bluejays.
Good luck to Mr. Snider. We feel like we’ve traveled a long way with you this season, if only in spirit.
18 Jul
I Went To The Eastern League All-Star Game; No, I Did Not Take Pictures
A few weeks ago, my friend Chris texted me with some interesting news: the Eastern League All-Star Game was going to be held in Manchester, NH, on July 16. Since we both live about fifteen minutes away from the city affectionately known as Manch Vegas but don’t get up there to see the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play nearly often enough (I’ve actually been to one Fisher Cats game in their five years of existence), it was a given that we were going to get tickets and check it out.
Fortunately, Chris decided to wait until a week before the game to order tickets, so we managed to get what the ticket office informed him were “the last three available tickets in the entire ballpark.” (We were joined on this excursion by Chris’ friend Billy, who lives a five minute drive from the ballpark.) Apparently, this game was kind of a big deal – who would’ve thunk it? Those three seats were great, though: down the right field line, on hard metal bleachers. We didn’t really have to worry about the sun, at least – our faces had burned completely off and we were in the beginning stages of heat stroke by the end of the pregame Homerun Derby.
Like most homerun derbies, this one was pretty terrible for the most part. The first round consisted of everyone just kind of trying to get his bearings, so there weren’t a lot of balls flying out of the ballpark; I think the leader had three dingers at one point. The hometown favorite, Fisher Cats outfielder Travis Snider (the number one prospect in the Blue Jays system), started slow, going deep twice and surviving a double-tiebreaker to avoid an early exit. He caught fire in the second, though, crushing a series of long, majestic drives to right and right-center. For us, sitting in foul territory, Snider was the highlight, because we had a great view of the flight path of everything he hit.
The Derby didn’t end in the pregame; no, for some reason, they decided to conclude it in the middle of the second inning. Don’t all baseball games have lengthy breaks at that point? This was the first of many times I leaned over to Chris and solemnly said, “I guess this one DOESN’T count.” That was really just as unfunny in real life as it is in writing, I promise you.
The final was weirdly constructed, with what appeared to be two different rounds within the final round. Snider ended up winning the whole thing; those soaring, majestic drives were too much to overcome.
In the other pregame festivity worth noting, there were three skydivers, one of whom was carrying an American flag that predictably hit the ground when he landed. The first to touch down had some sort of jet pack on his back and accelerated into the ballpark from center field; from our perspective, he almost hit the scoreboard on the way in. Chris decried his performance because he did not land on the X that had been placed in centerfield.
Number Two appeared to get blown off course and almost ran into the Hood blimp that was circling the stadium. This prompted a great line from the guy in front of us: “Maybe he’s planning on stopping off for milk on the way down.” (By the end of the night, we were sure this guy hated us. In the middle innings, he and his kid left for awhile, so Billy jumped down onto his bench to stretch out a little. The evil eye Billy got when they returned was both priceless and effective – they left again around the sixth, and Billy absolutely refused to sit in his seat again.) Ultimately, he won Chris’ respect by hitting his mark, although I was less than impressed – he just barely caught the edge of the X. I demand perfection, gosh darn it.
Number Three was the one holding the flag. I have no idea if he hit the X because I was too concerned with watching the flag to see if it hit the ground. As noted above, it did. Too bad baseball isn’t like the Catholic Church, or we could’ve sung four Star Spangled Banners and six God Bless Americas to make up for it.
A few other random thoughts:
–My wardrobe for the evening? A white T-shirt with “Pride” emblazoned proudly on the front and “El Guapo” on the back. I am willing to suggest with complete confidence that I was the only person of the 8,700+ in attendance who was wearing Nashua Pride apparel.
–Before ordering his chicken fingers and fries at the concession stand, Chris decided he absolutely HAD to know how many pieces of fowl he would be receiving. The Pride only give three; this upsets him. So in order to obtain the necessary information, he decided to boldly ask the cashier, Courtney, for the information he required. Predictably, she had no clue. Her guess, however, was five. Shortly thereafter, Chris held in his hand a basket of fries with five – FIVE – pieces of chicken on top. Nirvana, folks. Nirvana. And the best part? Courtney said that they usually only do three pieces, but since she had told him five, she would honor that. This little bit of integrity earned Courtney the right to be our own personal cashier for the rest of the game. I’m sure she was elated.
–There was an on-field promotion featuring blow-up, live-size bobblehead dolls that absolutely floored Chris. Try to picture a 6’3″ 23-year-old laughing hysterically at a couple of balloons and you know what we were dealing with. He was literally inconsolable the first time they came out; when they emerged for an encore performance, I thought we were gonna have to carry him out of the ballpark. And when the head popped off of one – hoo boy, get the paramedics to Section 117. Watching Chris was better than watching the promotion.
–Billy and Chris both bought large sodas in special cups made out of heavy duty plastic. The straws were too short to reach the bottom, so they had to pop the tops off to finish the drink. After awhile, I noticed Billy, sitting to my right, struggling mightily with his cup. For ten minutes, he tried and tried and tried, and could not get the cap back on. Finally, I took pity, asked for the cup, and got the lid on in less than ten seconds. When I handed it back, he immediately removed the lid and said, “I need to figure out how to do it myself now.” It only took five more minutes and another demonstration, but he did it. Chris and I were so proud.
–We were pretty loud throughout most of the game – nothing bad was said, we were just having a good time at the ballpark – which eventually drove away some of the people in front of us. The people behind us, however, were pretty cool. By the last third of the game, Billy was comparing Bingo strategy with one group while Chris and I had found a Nashua Pride season ticket holder in the row behind us (he said, “YEAH, bring Garces in!” which I took as a crack at my T-shirt; how surprised were we when he pulled his official 2008 pass out of his wallet?).
–I have a potential dilemma. As a nearly 30-year-old man, if I ever catch a foul ball it should be required of me to immediately hand it off to the nearest kid and bask in the glow of my neighbors’ cheers. But I have a kid at home. How do I easily explain to fifty people that I’m not giving my foul ball to that kid because of my boy, not because I’m a jerk? Do I immediately pull out baby pictures? Bring a bullhorn that will allow me to reach the entire section clearly and quickly? Just flip off the kid and complete the heel turn? These are the things that keep me up at night.
–Sometime in the middle innings, I noticed that Travis Snider was wearing number 99 and wondered aloud if we could start calling him either Wayne or Gretzky. Chris nixed both; I’m not so sure he was right to do so. What say you, faithful readers?
–Rumor has it the North Division All-Stars won on the strength of a three-run homerun by New Britain’s Luke Hughes. May or may not be true – I kinda lost track of things on the field after awhile.
–There were fireworks after the game, but we didn’t see them because Chris was leading a charge down the concourse in an attempt to get us the hell out of there in a timely fashion. It was really an epic performance; NFL linemen don’t clear space like this. Aside from a couple of questionable decisions to head toward the middle when the sideline was clearly the better play, and the fact that he lost us on the stairs and didn’t look back until we were a quarter mile outside the stadium, it was well executed.
In two weeks, I’ll be getting together with Chris and Billy again, this time to head down to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to see the Paw Sox take on the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees on Dustin Pedroia Bobblehead Night. We’ll be joined by my older brother, Tim, on this particular adventure, which will hopefully end with me holding a life-size Pedroia bobblehead in my hands.
22 May
The Z-Meter: 5/22/2008
The Z-meter tracks the story arcs of 25 top prospects (or players we just like) on their way to the bigs. It is named after current Washington Nationals star Ryan Zimmerman, who made the transition from anchoring the University of Virginia to starring in MLB in one year.
Promoted:
Evan Longoria, 3B, Durham (AAA) to Tampa Bay Rays (MLB)
Luke Hochevar, RHP, Omaha (AAA) to Kansas City Royals (MLB)
Max Scherzer, RHP, Tucson (AAA) to Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB)
Justin Masterson, RHP, Portland (AA) to Pawtucket (AAA)
Antonio Bastardo, LHP, Clearwater (A) to Reading (AA)
Travis Snider, OF, Dunedin (A-Advanced) to New Hampshire (AA)
Josh Vitters, 3B, Boise (Short A) to Peoria (A)
What the hell does a guy have to do to get called up around here? Since last week’s Z-meter, our hero Jay Bruce has improved upon his already stellar triple-A stats, hitting three more homers, raising his averages by double-digits, and putting runs on the board any way he can. The kid is as good as we think he is. Call him up, Cincy!
And, not to be lost in our Bruce-worship, Ian Stewart is doing roughly the same thing in Colorado, throwing gasoline on the fire that he’s been stoking since the season began. Play him or Trade him, Rocks!
Lars Anderson of the Lancaster Jethawks (Boston) went through a rough ofer stretch early in May, but has rebounded in a big way, hitting .550 over his last four games. Ian Gac is doing the reverse, getting donuts in his last two games, which has not had much effect on his mountain of numbers… yet.
UPDATE – Travis Snider is heating up fast. He hit two dingers for 3 RBI and 3 runs since I posted this morning. I’d say he’s adjusting to AA ball pretty well. Get out there and see him, OMDQ!
Let’s see who else is hot this week:
The top level. These prospects are in AAA in the prime of their youth, and ready for the call that will change their lives.
Jay Bruce, CF – Louisville Bats (Reds): .366 – 32R – 10HR – 37RBI – 8SB – .665 SLG – 1.059 OPS
Homer Bailey, RHP – Louisville Bats (Reds): 9GS – 4W – 4L – 3.88 ERA – 20BB – 44K
Andrew McCutchen, CF – Indianapolis Indians (Pirates): .283 – 29R – 6HR – 21RBI – 14SB – .451 SLG – .828 OPS
Carlos Gonzalez, RF – Sacramento River Cats (Athletics): .295 – 16R – 3HR – 15RBI – 1SB – .434 SLG – .783 OPS
Ian Stewart, 3B – Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies): .283 – 43R – 12HR – 43RBI – 6SB – .635 SLG – 1.014 OPS
Joe Koshansky, 1B – Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies): .280 – 26R – 7HR – 34RBI – 0SB – .520 SLG – .885 OPS
Colby Rasmus, LF – Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals): .182 – 23R – 6HR – 16RBI – 5SB – .309 SLG – .579 OPS
Justin Masterson, RHP – Pawtucket Red Sox (Red Sox): 8GS – 1W – 3L – 4.23 ERA – 16BB – 37K
These guys also have the potential to skip straight to the majors, but are more likely to get promoted to the top of this meter first.
Clayton Kershaw, LHP – Jacksonville Suns (Dodgers): 9GS – 0W – 3L – 2.34 ERA – 15BB – 45K
Fernando Martinez, CF (injured) – Binghamton Mets (Mets): .280 – 19R – 3HR – 16RBI – 3SB – .408 SLG – .721 OPS
Jacob McGee, LHP – Montgomery Biscuits (Rays): 8GS – 3W – 2L – 4.20 ERA – 17BB – 39K
Cameron Maybin, CF – Carolina Mudcats (Marlins): .247 – 26R – 6HR – 13RBI – 10SB – .416 SLG – .789 OPS
Wade Davis, RHP – Montgomery Biscuits (Rays): 9GS – 4W – 2L – 3.23 ERA – 21BB – 39K
Elvis Andrus, SS – Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers): .271 – 23R – 0HR – 19RBI – 10BB – 14SB – .322 SLG – .640 OPS
Jeff Samardzija, P – Tennessee Smokies (Cubs): 10GS – 3W – 4L – 6.14 ERA – 32BB – 28K
Luke Montz, C – Harrisburg Senators (Nationals): .330 – 16R – 8HR – 33RBI – 10BB – 0SB – .659 SLG – 1.049 OPS
Travis Snider, RF – New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays): .228 – 17R – 7HR – 22RBI – 0SB – .465 SLG – .815 OPS
Antonio Bastardo, LHP – Reading Phillies (Phillies): 4GS – 2W – 1L – 2.66 ERA – 8BB – 20K
Matt LaPorta, CF – Huntsville Stars (Brewers): .304 – 35R – 11HR – 39 RBI – 0SB – .602 SLG – 1.018 OPS
Mat Gamel, 3B – Huntsville Stars (Brewers): .372 – 41R – 10HR – 38RBI – 2SB – .661 SLG – 1.097 OPS
These guys have vast potential but need to work out some kinks in A-ball before they can advance.
Ian Gac, 1B – Clinton LumberKings (Rangers): .346 – 35R – 14HR – 40RBI – 22BB – 1SB – .738 SLG – 1.198 OPS
Lars Anderson, 1B – Lancaster JetHawks (Red Sox): .277 – 28R – 7HR – 23RBI – 0SB – .484 SLG – .867 OPS
Rick Porcello, RHP – Lakeland Flying Tigers (Detroit): 9GS – 3W – 4L – 1.72 ERA – 14BB – 28K
Matt Wieters, C – Frederick Keys (Orioles): .345 – 31R – 11HR – 29RBI – 21BB – 1SB – .619 SLG – 1.049 OPS
Mike Moustakas, SS – Burlington Bees (Royals): .244 – 14R – 4HR – 16RBI – 3SB – .372 SLG – .672 OPS
Prospects chosen from Diamond Cutter’s Top 25, Baseball America, and my own irrational sense of whimsy.
2 May
You Have To Appreciate Any Comparison To Bo Jackson
I really need to get my butt up to Manchester to see Blue Jays prospect Travis Snider in action. From The Union Leader’s Kevin Gray:
At times, it’s been almost painful to watch the youngster through his first 10 games at Double-A. Snider, batting .135 strictly as a designated hitter, has struck out 22 times in 37 at-bats. He fanned four straight times against Bowie earlier in the week. Frustrations mounted in that series when Snider fanned on a pitch and snapped the bat over his knee, Bo Jackson-style.
You hate to see a 20-year-old kid become frustrated by a tough stretch at the plate, but at the same time: breaking a bat over his knee? Awesome enough that I used a colon in the previous sentence where I’m fairly sure it was grammatically incorrect, just because I felt that such an amazing action deserved amazing grammar.
Snider, who is DHing while coming back from an elbow injury, will probably remain with AA New Hampshire for the rest of the season. He homered on Thursday for the first time since joining the Fisher Cats.
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