Travis Snider hit a monster home run last night against the Brewers. People were upset last year when the Pirates traded Brad Lincoln for him, but I was optimistic that a change of scenery for Snider would help him out.
This year he has been pretty good, hitting .292/.364/.406, but he did not have a home run until last night, when he destroyed a baseball that went 458 feet and then rolls into the river. The Pirates seem like they are using him in a platoon position and I do not know if that is necessarily right. He has a very small sample size against LHP, but he is not terrible against them.
I have to ask the question, why do players develop a platoon split against right-hand or left-hand pitchers? I imagine it has something to do with the ability of the hitter to see the ball and whatnot. Younger hitters have not had the number of at-bats against LHP and have not made the necessary adjustments needed, so at what point should a team give up and go to a platoon? Garrett Jones is someone that is good for a platoon, but are we ready to say that Snider is too?
Snider has 196 career ABs versus LHP and he is hitting .235/.280/.378. That is definitely not good, but could that become better? If you look at a Prince Fielder’s first full year, he had a similar line against lefties and then over time it got better. His career line is below his RHP line, but not so much that he is a platoon candidate. And no, I am not saying that Snider is like Fielder, but I am saying that maybe he just needs to get a chance against lefties. Or maybe I am rambling. Whatever. Leave me alone.