Every Pittsburgh Pirates fan from one side of the bandwagon to the other want either an RF with All-Star credentials or Top Prospect - Gregory Polanco in the lineup yesterday. While Gregory Polanco is most likely a mid-season call up away, people shouldn't be giving up on Travis Snider either.
Travis Snider?
Lunchbox Hero?
Yes, that Travis Snider, who went 0-3 in the Opener and 1-8 in the first 2 games prompting every fan from Pacific to Atlantic Ocean to claim him as a massive failure. A failure who shouldn't start on a Minor League field let alone a Major League one. Yet, after those first couple games, all Travis Snider has done is taken his Batting Avg. to .316. Yes, his power numbers are on the sad side of putrid, however on a team not hitting much at all, a .316 Avg. is nothing to sneeze at.
Last season Travis Snider got off to a great start, batting .300 with a .799 OPS largely hitting from the #2 spot where getting on base for Andrew McCutchen is the name of the game. In that game he had an excellent OBP of .382.
Then a nagging left foot injury escalated and Travis Snider's season went downhill along with any faith that a fan might have had in him. That injury has since been corrected with surgery which has left Travis Snider one of the Pirates most interesting players.
When the Pirates traded reliever Brad Lincoln for Travis Snider in 2012, Pirates fans were irate that we gave up a failed top prospect with the ceiling of "Set-Up Man" for a guy that was project. It was a low risk/high reward trade. Toronto Blue Jays fans hated it. They were giving up on a budding prospect that had been developed poorly who could reach his potential late for an ordinary reliever.
Enter the 2014 season, Travis Snider is healthy. He can plant his foot when he swings, he can twist it when he needs to. At the age of 26, he's coming into those prime years when players start to "get it" mentally and the mind catches up to the physical ability. That potential that the Blue Jays fans didn't want to get rid of, could start to see the light of day. Afterall, when he's been fairly healthy the last 2 seasons, he's hitting .300 or better.
So, why all the vitriol? The kid is hitting. We as fans should want that! His long term future isn't with the Pirates due to Gregory Polanco, but every last ounce of success that Snider has, increases his trade value. That trade value could happen at this years deadline. A 26 year old, .270-300 hitter at the MLB level with developing power could fetch a nice return for the Pirates as they look towards the playoffs.
Another question fans should ask is that, for a #2 hitter in this lineup, getting on base and hitting outweighs power. With Starling Marte getting on at a clip of .343-.423 and batting behind Andrew McCutchen, you want a very good hitter at #2. The offense that can be generated from the top the order greatly outweighs what is lost in power. Until the trade deadline time comes, this type of production can carry the Pirates as a 1st Place competitor for months barring major injuries.
Quite frankly, Travis Snider is what the Pirates need right now...
... if he can keep up with current production
Couldn't agree more. Good read, too. I have absolutely no use for tabata. The only reason he even has a batting average is because he is so bad at batting that he miss hits the ball in such a way that it either rolls too slow to a fielder or its blooped in no mans land.
