Yesterday, our own Ryan Blake warned against jumping to conclusions about the 2015 Orioles after just one game. One of his points was that Travis Snider will likely not be the team MVP.
After two games, I’ll listen to Ryan and indeed not jump to that specific conclusion – “Lunchbox” won’t be the team MVP (Steve Pearce will!), but I will jump to this one: I’ll like Travis Snider.
Let’s start by having some fun with small sample sizes – in eight plate appearances as an Oriole, Snider is 4/5 with 3 RBI and has also drawn THREE walks, for a nifty slash line of .800/.875/.1000.
Those walks are a sight for sore eyes for O’s fans. Of course he won’t post a 37.5 BB% all season, but historically, Snider has been a patient hitter. In 2014 with Pittsburgh, his walk rate was 9.5% in 359 PA.
2013: 8.4% in 285 PA
2012: 9.2% in 185 PA
2011: 5.4% in 202 PA
2010: 6.6% in 319 PA
2009: 10.5% in 276 PA
2008: 6.3% in 80 PA
To compare, the leader among O’s regulars last season was Chris Davis, with an 11.4 BB%, followed by Pearce at 10.4% and Nick Markakis at 8.7%. So, Snider would have been third on the 2014 O’s in drawing base on balls.
How about our favorite two hackers? Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop had BB% of 2.8 and 2.7 last year, respectively.
You have to take some bad with the good with Snider though, as he also historically strikes out a lot. His K% was 18.7% last year, down from 26.3% in 2013 and 25.9% in 2012. Those aren’t quite 2014 Davis levels, but they are Schoop/Caleb Joseph levels. So, while Lunchbox has yet to strike out as an Oriole, don’t be too surprised when he starts doing just that.
I hope he can keep this little hot streak he’s on to start the year going for a week or two, but that remains to be seen. For now though, I’m going to sit back and enjoy watching Lunchbox eat.
h/t @connor_guercio
You know why else I like this Snider character? Because he’s kinda goofy out there.
