Minor League Prospect Watch - Travis Snider

Travis Snider was drafted out of high school in Washington in the first round of the 2006 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Since that point, Snider has been mashing the ball ever since he began his minor league career.

For his career Snider is hitting for an average of .297 with 46 HRs, 201 RBI, .371 OBP, .513 SLG, and a .884 OPS in 1,032 at-bats.

The Blue Jays have have not taken an agressive approach with Snider but I would not be surprised to see him get a September call up and possibly make the team at some point in 2009. The one downside for Snider that will probably prevent him from reaching the majors right away is that he does strike out a lot, but he is still young and should be able to cut down on that. Right now at Double-A, Snider at 20 years old is one of the youngest players at that level but was still able to make the All-Star team.

Here are Snider's stats this season: .262/19 HR/67 RBI/.342 OBP/.470 SLG/.812 OPS

You can check out some more detailed stats from Snider, including his hit chart and game log over at his First Inning Players Page and for updated stats on the season you can check out his player page at Baseball Reference.

Here is everything you need to know about Travis Snider:

Having managed Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider last year in low Class A Lansing and again this year with Double-A New Hampshire, Gary Cathcart knows how intense Snider can get."He's a ferocious competitor," Cathcart said. "I mean, I had to take him out of the game about a month ago because he got hit in the on-deck circle by a foul ball that grazed his helmet. That's an organizational thing: someone gets hit in the head, you take him out and get him checked out, make sure he's OK. I mean, he wanted to fight me in the dugout. I let him go out to left field the next day and I took him out—he wanted to fight me."But he's tremendously competitive. I've seen him stand up to a couple of his teammates for doing some stuff that you would expect a veteran guy to do. He understands what's right and what's wrong in this game even though he's only in his second full season. So he does have a lot of leadership qualities and the guys really feed off of him, the way he does his business. He's a clown in the afternoon when we're out stretching, taking BP and all that—he has a good time—but when it's time to play the game, when those lights go on, you're talking about a really competitive kid."Early in the season, an elbow injury hampered Snider, affecting his swing and his ability to make contact. The elbow injury got Snider into some bat habits, and it took him some time before he was able to smooth out his swing again.In April, Snider struck out 40 times in 105 plate appearances between high Class A Dunedin and New Hampshire, a punchout in 38 percent of his at-bats. Since then, Snider has 84 strikeouts in 309 plate appearances (26 percent)."You look at the strikeouts and they're a little high, and that'll come down as he gets more experience," Cathcart said. "But he's just one of those guys, no matter if he's hitting .210 or .310, he's just always productive."While Snider is putting the ball in play more now than he did in April, nobody's confusing him for Howie Kendrick. And for a power-hitter like Snider, who at age 20 is still just the third-youngest player in the Eastern League, the strikeouts don't hinder his overall production of getting on base and hitting for power.Through 313 at-bats with New Hampshire, Snider is batting .265/.348/.463. His .811 OPS is 70 points higher than the league average OPS of .741, even though the average age of a player in the EL is four to five years older than Snider. That performance led to a spot on the EL all-star team and in the home run derby, which Snider won with some homers that were literally light-tower shots in his home park."He has tremendous understanding of everything around him for a 20-year-old kid," Cathcart said. "I have to keep telling myself, because once in a while he'll do some stuff that reminds you that he's 20. But baseball-wise, for the most part, he's pretty far beyond his years." (Baseball America)

Have you been paying attention to what New Hampshire’s (Blue Jays) Travis Snider is doing? It’s pretty impressive. After playing exclusively at DH at the beginning of the season with a sore elbow, Snider has played nine of the last 10 games in the outfield, and he’s been pretty good at the plate, too. Yesterday, the 20-year-old Snider went 3-for-4 with a walk to raise his slash stats to .273/.373/.459 in 204 plate appearances. Not bad for one of the youngest players in Double-A. (Baseball America)

Snider has just over a year of pro experience under his belt, but he's already proven to be one of the best bats in the Minor Leagues, rewarding the Blue Jays for ignoring their policy of avoiding high school players in the first round of the draft. In 172 career games, Snider has a .316 average and .926 OPS. He more than held his own as a teenager in the Arizona Fall League, finishing in the top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and OPS. In other words, the guy can flat-out hit. He's also a decent outfielder with a strong arm that should allow him to become a prototypical right fielder. His experience in the AFL could mean a faster ticket to that future, perhaps with a jump up to Double-A, if not to start, then at least at some point in 2008.(MinorLeagueBaseball)

But when Jays officials rave about Snider's maturity and presence, as they did, eagerly, on Tuesday, they are speaking about far more than his accelerated baseball progress. "As far as the physical attributes, he's going to be a very good hitter," said Blue Jays general manger J.P. Ricciardi. "But it's really the mental stuff that separates Travis. He's been through some tough things. You talk about a young kid that gets it — he gets it." The Arizona Fall League is a fast-track November league for elite prospects, and Snider, a power-hitting outfielder, was dominant. In 26 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions, he hit .316 with four homers, 11 RBI, a .404 on-base percentage and a .541 slugging percentage. (Seattle Times)

Snider's .278/.363/.472 line in 212 at-bats in Double-A is plenty impressive for a 20-year-old, but the Blue Jays do have to be somewhat concerned about just how often he's striking out. He's fanned 73 times in the Eastern League and 95 times in 73 games overall this year. To put that in perspective, Jack Cust currently leads the AL with 79 strikeouts in 70 games. (USA Today)

DL: How would you describe your hitting mechanics?
TS: I’d say they’re pretty simple. I’ve got a relatively smooth swing, good bat speed--things like that, things you’ve heard before. I try to keep it simple. I watched a lot of hitters growing up, and there are guys like Gary Sheffield that can wave the bat a hundred times before they take a swing, but I’m not doing that. I learned at a young age that for me to be successful I need to keep things simple. At the beginning of the season things got real complex for me. I started overanalyzing things and basically got inside my own head. I couldn’t even help myself, and I wouldn’t let the hitting coaches help me, because I wouldn’t allow it to happen. But getting back to that mechanical swing, when it is sound it’s simple, it’s smooth, and it’s controlled. I think that’s the key to being a good hitter--being under control in the batter’s box. (Baseball Prospectus)

Snider is a very young, very strong, and very promising prospect in the Blue Jays system. Sniders rise through the Toronto system is impressive: at Lansing (Low-A) in 2007 he hit .313 with 16 home runs in 118 games, and he looked even better in the Fall League, hitting .316 and slugging .541 in Arizona. He's still very young, and if his defense develops a little more he could be a viable OF or 1B. More likely, though, he'll enter MLB as part of the new generation of young, full-time DHs. He could start to contribute big numbers by 2010. (Scouting Book)

After being brought along slowly by the Toronto Blue Jays Snider spent under a month in high A Dunedin. He had his way with the league (although against the best prospects, the starters he had a .779 OPS and he feasted on relievers with a 1.067 OPS). He’s struggled against the older competition so far in AA but its way too early to read anything into that, as 20 is young for the league. I know its not cool with the Internet crowd to disagree with anything Keith Law says but we see two different baseball players. Take into account he does this for a living and I’m a blogger. Keith Law Snider Quote: "He’s a solid-average runner and has at least a 60 arm in right field. He has a good idea at the plate, and his contact rate should improve as he develops. This was a steal of a pick at No. 14 in ‘06; among hitters, only Longoria (No. 3 selection) looks better right now." I’m not sure what the Law is watching but Snider is slow on the base paths, certainly below average. Pretty much every player I watched on the Dunedin roster could beat Snider from the plate to second. Snider has been used almost exclusively as the DH during his time in AA New Hampshire. Reports from some scouts (Keith Law included) think he can play RF in the majors. The Jays brass disagrees. During my visit I only caught Snider in the DH role, so I can’t comment on his fielding. But if his mobility is any indication I can’t see him covering much ground in a major league outfield. I guess we’ll see where this ends up. Snider certainly loses value if he becomes a Billy Butler style prospect. This also drops him in my overall prospect rankings when considering the tools and range of other Top 15ish prospects Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Cameron Maybin, etc. I now see Snider projecting similarly to a player of Matt LaPorta’s stature. There’s nothing wrong with a 30 HR+ potential first basemen/DH type. (MopUpDuty)

His strong AFL stint vs older competition solidified Snider in my eyes. As with Bruce, his BB/K ratio isn’t great (49/129), yet the plus power helps to override this. The Jays seem content with taking their time which is a good thing in this instant. His next stop is in the Flordia State League and his power at that level will be interesting to watch. I’m still about the only one around that is concerned with his BB/K splits (13/43) although he had a .950 OPS against them. I still question his D later on, as he’s already 245 LBS and in my eyes still projects as a LF or 1B. His high BA at each stop (.316) career carries high OBP and he slugged .525 in 2007. He probably won’t hit the majors in a meaningful role until the later half of 2009. The wait should be worth it. (MopUpDuty)

Snider is part of the famed crop of high school outfielders in the 2005 draft. Snider is best known for his powerful bat but has the weakness many hitters like him have in the form of too many strikeouts. Snider is very athletic and has the bat to carry him in right field but there has been talk of him moving to first base. Snider also has been cursed with the injury bug but when healthy, he is a force in the lineup (Diamond Cutter)

In this list, there are only two players I can project hitting 40 home runs at some point in their careers, Bruce and Snider. Others may develop that kind of power and none are locks to do so, but these two represent the best bets to do so. Snider is among the best hitters in the minor leagues with pitch recognition and power that are advanced for his age. He has a strong enough arm to play in right but he is unathletic and will be a force for the Blue Jays as long as his hitting. (Baseball Mastermind)

The Blue Jays went back to the high school ranks in last June`s draft to nab Snider and were rewarded with a fine debut at Pulaski, where Snider led the Appy League in slugging percentage. It`s that power, generated by his prodigious bat speed, that will be Snider`s calling card, but his pitch recognition is also advanced, and his makeup is considered excellent. Snider`s a big guy, which can be a favorable indicator for a power hitter, but he will need to watch his weight, especially if he wants to play outfield rather than first base. The upside here is very high. (Baseball Prospectus)

More: Minor League Prospect Watch