Rounding Third: Snider is the (Sorta) New Lawrie

Photo from the Toronto Star

Every Wednesday, when you’re fevered from three days of work and the weekend seems so far away, we dive deep into speculation (both outlandish and realistic) in a segment we call Rounding Third.

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Eric Thames presents an odd scenario for the Toronto Blue Jays. His decent bat, augmented by a little power (12 HR in his 2011 season, with a .262/.313/.456) slash line) makes him an okay option out in left field, with the ability to come on late in the game as a pitch hitter on off-days when he’s platooned with Rajai Davis. This option (which John Farrell has made good use of over the first 17 games of the season) is also why Thames is such an interesting case for me to speculate on his future with the origination. See there’s this guy (don’t know if you’ve heard of him) named Travis Snider. Snider was the Jays first-round pick in 2006. He’s got power, good base running skills and hits for a pretty good average. He has multiple ‘tools’ (such as a spade, rake and maybe even that thing you use to cut off the edges of you lawn). He’s also great in left field. Problem is, every time he’s comes up here, he’s just plained stunk up the joint.

Much ink was metaphorically spilled (I think newspapers use some sort of vegetable product these days) in Spring Training as to which of these two guys would make it out to Cleveland to start the 2012 season as the Blue Jays everyday left-fielder. Posting almost identical springs, the job went to Thames mostly because in his brief time in the Show last year, he didn’t crumble nearly as badly as Snider. He didn’t do well but was a a heck of a lot better then Juan Rivera. Snider came back up a couple of times last year and each time, his .350+ average and power from Las Vegas evaporated in much the same way as water does in said city. Thames was consistent and showed decent glimpses of power when he was up here last year. The problem is, every time Snider goes to AAA, he knocks the leather off the ball and everyone wants him back here.

Now if I was running the front office, I’d probably have brought Snider up this season just to see if an extended stay would help him iron out the wrinkles from his past times in the Majors. Give him 300+ plate appearances to see if he can make adjustments. I also understand the predicament the team found themselves in. Thames played pretty well last year, and much better then their other options that year. He also has a very marketable personality. He’s funny, relaxed and treats his beard like a canvas. If he can put it together, he’s a great asset to have. I doubt he ever will, but I understand why they wanted to give him a shot.

So here my prediction: Travis Snider is this year’s Brett Lawrie. Now I don’t think that Snider when he arrives will rip it up like Capt. Canada did last year. I do think that Anthopoulos learned something with Lawrie last year. Despite a great spring and a great first few months in AAA, Alex Anthopoulos seems to like to let guys cook. Eric Thames has shown nothing in 2012 to make me want him to be my long-term left-fielder. He hasn’t been nearly as bad as Blue Jays Talk callers think he is, but compared to Travis Snider’s potential, I’d rather have Lunchbox out there everyday going into 2013 and beyond. I just think AA is a skeptical guy. He knows that the stats in Las Vegas can be misleading. He wants Snider to force his way up here, and in a way that makes sense for the big league team too. I see by the trade deadline the Jays are a 5 games over 500, in third place, and package for a #2 starter is cooked up that includes Thames. Then we see Snider show up… and he delivers. By allowing him to stay at a single level of ball for the better part of a season, Snider gets something he hasn’t had in a while: constant, daily playing time without wondering if he’s going to get demoted or promoted. I see this taking the burden off his shoulders to either play like crazy or try like crazy. By allowing him to just focus on playing, I see his woes disappearing knowing his competitor for the job has moved on to another city. When he knows is his job now, and now his job to take from Thames’ meaty biceps I see him thriving.

Not that I won’t miss Thames. Despite his average level of performance, he is easily one of the most positive, likeable dudes on the team. If he doesn’t get traded, I like him as a left-handed power bat off the bench and someone who can come out for Snider on a off day so Rajai Davis can stay available for pinch hitting. Maybe once his career is done he comes back as our PA announcer. Or as our mascot.