Prospect Spotlight: Baltimore Orioles, Brandon Snyder

Brandon Snyder, the Orioles' 13th overall pick in the 2005 MLB Draft, is an up and coming first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles. He was born on Nov. 23, 1986.

Brandon was originally drafted as a catcher in the system but after defensive struggles (poor footwork, average arm, blocking skills were not fully up to par) and a major surgery on his left labrum, he has been moved to the 1B/DH position, where he has flourished.

During his first professional year, Brandon batted .291 with 50 hits in 52 games. He also had 18 extra base hits (8 HR), a very impressive BB/K Ratio (30/43), and a .386 OBP.

His 52 games were split between the APPY league (44 games, Rookie Level) and NYPL's (8 games, Short-Season A ball).

After showing promise from his first professional season Brandon had a dismal sophomore year. He batted only .213 in 72 games while watching his BB/K ratio plummet from 30/43 to 14/98.

His was apparently not ready to advance to the South Atlantic League (A ball). His season came to an end when he tore his labrum requiring surgery

After many people and scouts were down on Snyder coming into the 2007 season he proved them wrong. He now was now converted from a catcher into a first baseman /designated hitter.

This time performing much better in the South Atlantic League. Putting up 37 XBH, a .283 average and an improved BB/K ratio of 44/107 (118 games) showed that he was a maturing player.

2008 was a breakout year for Brandon Snyder for Baltimore's Advanced A ballclub, the Fredrick Keys. Brandon batted .315 with an outstanding 48 XBH ( 13 HR's), .358 OBP, 80 RBI and a 29/83 BB/K ratio in 116 games. He was in the top 10 for several stat categories for his league.

His strikeout rate is still one of the main concerns for Brandon Snyder, but his plate discipline has certainly come a long way. Baseball America ranks Brandon Snyder as the ninth best prospect in the Orioles organization and project him as the Orioles' Starting First Baseman by 2012 the latest.

He is still very young in age and needs some more time to mature in the minors. We will see how he works at AA this season and if he can keep up his quality hitting. He had a short stint with the Orioles at ST and showed excellence hitting a few doubles in the games he played. Brandon has a strong bat but lacks in speed.

An impressive stat is that seven of his 13 home runs from last year were to center field, showing he has the power to hit it out of anywhere.

Brandon is much better off as a first baseman now that Matt Wieters, the next catching protege has been drafted by the Orioles. Many people also see Brandon making a run for the Baltimore Orioles MILB player of the year once Wieters graduates to the MLB.