Why ’15 Season Could Be Gordon Beckham’s Best Since Rookie Year

Apr 23, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Travis Snider (23) hits safely on a fielder

TRAVIS SNIDER (OF)

Travis Snider is a 27 year-old outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles but at one time the 1st-rounder (14th overall) was a consensus Top-1o prospect in all of baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays. Like Beckham, Snider didn’t spend an enormous amount of time in the minor leagues and debuted at the tender age of 20.

He was good for a .735 OPS in 242 games with Toronto but didn’t show much offensive pop or strong OBP skills. As a result, he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Brad Lincoln in 2012. With the Pirates, Snider was dismal over 111 games in ’13, struggling to a mere .614 OPS in his age 25 season, which was a career low.

Beckham could be 2015’s version of Travis Snider.

This is similar to Beckham’s 2014 season, when he posted a career low .618 OPS. Snider rebounded last year by posting a .264/.338/.438 line with Pittsburgh, essentially revitalizing his career. Snider was especially hot in the 2nd half, with and .880 OPS to go along with 9 home runs and 13 doubles.

The Baltimore Orioles acquired Snider this offseason hoping that he was a late bloomer and so far it has paid dividends as Snider currently has a .298/.389/.447 line through 15 games.

The jury is still out on whether Snider can continue this production, but it is an example of how a former top prospect could be starting to bloom in his age 27 season, after six disappointing previous campaigns. Again, Beckham is 28 and also has six seasons of uninspiring play under his belt.

So could Beckham be this year’s Travis Snider if he gets some more playing time? Maybe.

Next: Carlos Gomez