Cubs claim CF Brad Snyder off waivers

[Butterscup1679666578]

FLUSHING, NEW YORK (TICKER) —The Chicago Cubs on Monday claimed center fielder Brad Snyder off waivers from the Cleveland Indians and added him to the 40-man roster.

 

Originally selected by the Indians in the first round of the 2003 draft, Snyder, 26, spent the last two seasons at Class AAA Buffalo of the International League. He hit .246 with 12 homers and 61 RBI in 115 games for the Bisons this year.

 

In another move, the Cubs designated righthander Adam Harben for assignment. He was 3-6 with a 5.37 ERA in 23 games at Class A Daytona this season.

 

Harben, 25, was acquired by Chicago from the Minnesota Twins on September 5, 2006 for infielder Phil Nevin.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AnODyGEKA8kw2TsPLpkidmU5nYcB?slug=txcubssnyder&prov=st&type=lgns

 

 

Can anyone tell me the point of this?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I can explain the Harben portion

[UMFan83]

Former first round pick? Only 5 years ago. Maybe he still has some potential?

 

Good to see that Phil Nevin's time with the Cubs officially amounted to nothing now.

[Backtobanks]

FLUSHING, NEW YORK (TICKER) —The Chicago Cubs on Monday claimed center fielder Brad Snyder off waivers from the Cleveland Indians and added him to the 40-man roster.

 

Originally selected by the Indians in the first round of the 2003 draft, Snyder, 26, spent the last two seasons at Class AAA Buffalo of the International League. He hit .246 with 12 homers and 61 RBI in 115 games for the Bisons this year.

 

In another move, the Cubs designated righthander Adam Harben for assignment. He was 3-6 with a 5.37 ERA in 23 games at Class A Daytona this season.

 

Harben, 25, was acquired by Chicago from the Minnesota Twins on September 5, 2006 for infielder Phil Nevin.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AnODyGEKA8kw2TsPLpkidmU5nYcB?slug=txcubssnyder&prov=st&type=lgns

 

 

Can anyone tell me the point of this?

 

It probably means Pie will make the team next year or be traded and Iowa needs a CF.

[Rob]

BA had him as the #8 Indians prospect in 2007.

 

Snyder led Akron to within a game of the Eastern League title in 2006, topping the Aeros in homers and RBIs. The Indians batted him second and even leadoff, trying to give him more experience working deep counts and taking pitches, but he still ranked 10th in the minors in strikeouts. Like Brian Barton, Snyder has an intriguing power/speed combination. He has a wide base of tools, plus bat speed and above-average arm strength. While he still struck out a lot, his plate discipline did improve as he set a career high in walks. His inability to make consistent contact mutes Snyder's impressive tools, and he'll probably never hit for much of an average. His main task coming into 2006 was to improve his two-strike approach, and while club officials commend his effort, he didn't make progress. Snyder hit .314 with nine of his 18 homers in August, but he still struck out in bunches. He'll compete with trade acquisition Shin-Soo Choo to be Cleveland's right fielder, and the Tribe may have to live with Snyder's whiffs for the tradeoff of his power and speed.

 

And #25 in 2008.

 

Snyder's brother Ben, a lefthander who followed him at Ball State, ranks as the Giants' No. 21 prospect. Brad has better tools, is in a deeper organization, and is considered a better prospect, but his younger brother out-performed him in 2007. In 2006, the Indians experimented with Snyder, batting him in the leadoff spot at Akron to push him to work deeper counts and improve his two-strike approach. Snyder still ranked 10th in the minors in strikeouts that season, and he hasn't improved much since moving back down the lineup. He was on pace to top his career-high 158 strikeouts before a broken thumb put him out of action at the end of July. Still, the Indians believe in Snyder's wide tool set. He runs extremely well for his size, has plus bat speed, above-average power and outstanding arm strength that profile him as an everyday right-field candidate. His lack of ability to control the strike zone is particularly acute against lefthanders - he struck out 32 in 79 at-bats against them in 2007, batting just .203. His propensity for striking out likely means Snyder will never hit for much of an average, and it seems as though the Tribe is willing to live with the whiffs. The more contact he makes, though, the more his power comes into play. He did return late in the year in the Arizona Fall League, replacing Trevor Crowe after his injury. The Indians chose to keep Snyder on the 40-man roster this winter over outfielder Brian Barton, and are hopeful Snyder can turn it around.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I was about to be very intrigued and confused by this move, but then I realised I was thinking of Brad Wilkerson.

[Post Count Padder]

Interesting. Not a terrible idea by taking a flyer on him.

[cbbryan]

:-k 26 years old. Maybe they see something with him and think they can get him going.

[ISUCubsFan]

Looks like a low, basically no risk move. I assume he'll be starting in AAA next season while Pie replaces Johnson and/or Edmonds on the ML roster. I doubt he amounts to much as a major league contributor, but if the cost is DFAing Harben it's worth a shot.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Any other notes on him defensively aside from arm strength? My brief recollection of him from the Cleveland system was that he was a RF

[SouthSideRyan]

Hopefully this turns out more Angel Pagan than Mario Encarnacion.

[Brian]

Hopefully this turns out more Angel Pagan than Mario Encarnacion.

 

Why would you wish colitis on this poor man?

[SouthSideRyan]

Hopefully this turns out more Angel Pagan than Mario Encarnacion.

 

Why would you wish colitis on this poor man?

 

Cause it's better than dying alone in Taiwan.

[NCCubFan]

I approve of this move (maybe Ball State homerism on my part). The Cubs need a BSU prospect to make up for the disappointment of Luke Hagerty.

[Rob]

Any other notes on him defensively aside from arm strength? My brief recollection of him from the Cleveland system was that he was a RF

 

With the speed they seem to be attributing to him, it seems his range would profile pretty well unless his routes are terrible.

 

He seems to be 75% of the top end projection for Tyler Colvin, basically.

[RedFlash]

I thought we already had Brad Snyder in the organziation. Sam Fuld.....anyone?

[bukie]

Looks like the Cubs are starting to build that lineup for the Monday Houston game, just in case. ;)

[SouthSideRyan]

I thought we already had Brad Snyder in the organziation. Sam Fuld.....anyone?

 

Top of my head, Fuld has never had a season as good as Snyder's best 3. That said, he's old for a prospect and last season he was pretty awful. Worth a Von Joshua flier I guess.

[abuck1220]

I thought we already had Brad Snyder in the organziation. Sam Fuld.....anyone?

 

is that just the only left-handed throwing outfielder you know in the cubs' system? because that's a pretty terrible comparison.

 

and yeah, i remember him (snyder) being a rf at the beginning of his career.