Chris Snyder

The plan for Snyder when the season started was to be the Astros' primary backup catcher, starting just a little more than the average backup in the beginning of the season while teammate Jason Castro returned from a torn ACL and offseason foot surgery. Snyder wound up getting more playing time than expected, finding his way into 76 games and getting 221 at-bats. Strictly as a backup, he is not a terrible choice. Yes, the batting average was low, but he did work out more than his share of walks and hit a few timely home runs. There was no chance the Astros were going to pick up Snyder's $4 million mutual option for 2013, so his days in Houston are likely done. He should hook on this spring with a team looking for a veteran backstop.

Snyder has a clean slate after his time with Pittsburgh proved to be an unmitigated disaster. His defense was suspect and his home-run hitting skills never materialized at PNC Park. He underwent back surgery during the 2011 season and played in only 34 games for the Bucs, hitting .271 in 96 at-bats. Provided he's healthy, there's no reason he can't go back to hitting between 10-15 homers with a .230 batting average or so. As many of us know, back injuries can be tricky to recover from, if not career threatening. Now 31 years old and with a wonky back, other catchers offer less risk and have a better chance of staying healthy for the 2012 campaign. Snyder is getting an opportunity to compete for a job with Houston during spring training.

Snyder left Pittsburgh wanting more in his first go-around with the team in 2010. Perhaps coming over from the only team he ever played for, the Diamondbacks, made for a rough adjustment for the huge catcher. Whatever the case, Snyder's defense was mediocre, with the backstop dropping force outs at home that not even Ryan Doumit would miss. At the plate, his line of .169/.268/.298 in 124 at-bats was a bit more predictable for the all-or-nothing bat. At $6 million-plus in 2011, Pittsburgh has to hope that Snyder doesn't become the financial albatross that his occasional platoon partner now is. Fantasy owners looking for a 15-homer catcher with a .230 batting average have come to the right place.

A back injury limited Snyder to just 61 games for the D-Backs in 2009, and his results prior to going down for good in late August weren't pretty. To make matters worse, Miguel Montero took full advantage of his chance to be the primary option behind the plate, showing improved defense and 20-homer potential. With the offseason to rest and rehab, the D-Backs are optimistic that Snyder will be ready to go for the start of spring training in February. If there are no interested suitors via trade before Opening Day, Snyder will likely be limited to a couple of starts each week as Montero's backup.

With a strong showing in spring training, Snyder locked down the No. 1 catcher's spot in Arizona while Miguel Montero was saddled with a fractured finger. Despite having the catcher of the future looking over his shoulder for the past two seasons, Snyder has managed to keep the starting job by bringing a fair amount of pop to the plate and providing good defense behind it. Beyond that, the coaches like the way that Snyder handles the pitching staff among other intangibles that he brings to the table. He's a career .238 hitter at the big league level, but Snyder has homered once in every 22.8 at-bats since 2007 and draws enough walks to offset his low average. If Montero is traded or worked into the lineup at a different position, the 28-year-old backstop could potentially hit 20 homers in a season with the increased playing time.

Snyder ended up with the bigger half of the timeshare behind the plate for the D-Backs last season and put up good numbers for a player who likely went undrafted in most formats, but his struggles against righties (.215/.306/.392 with 48 K in 209 at-bats) will likely open the door for Miguel Montero to take hold of the No. 1 catcher spot during his second full season with Arizona. If he's able to hold onto 200-250 at-bats, another season with double-digit homers would be reasonable.

Back in the No. 2 role, Snyder cut his strikeout rate and established himself as a major leaguer. Miguel Montero will pass him by 2008; in 2007, he's the better player and the less-hyped one, so duck away from the crowd and find value.

The Diamondbacks patiently stuck with Snyder for most of 2005 despite an OPS below .600. Note that Snyder's two best offensive years in the minors came when he repeated the high-A and Double-A levels, and that the D-Backs moved Snyder straight from Double-A to the majors. Also note that Snyder has always had great walk rates, even last year when he was struggling. Give Snyder one more year to prove he can hit. He'll likely be the number-two catcher to Johnny Estrada in 2006, and that may take the pressure off.

Snyder was a nice surprise for the D-Backs, coming up in August after Koyie Hill broke his ankle and doing a nice job at the plate: forget the .240 BA; he got on base and showed some pop. He'll compete with Hill for playing time behind the plate in spring training.

After doing well at lower levels, Snyder was promoted to Double-A in midseason last year, and showed he wasn't quite ready yet (.202 with a .626 OPS in 53 games, and in El Paso, mind you). Still, he turned just 23 in February, so he'll get another turn at Double-A in 2004 to see if the Arizona catching prospect can still impress with the bat.

Snyder, the Diamondbacks' number two pick in the 2002 draft, had a good year at the plate in his first pro season, hitting .258-9-44 in 60 games at Single-A. Snyder turns 22 in the spring, and he'll move on to Double-A in 2003, and he could be contending for a spot in the bigs by sometime in 2004, where admittedly Arizona doesn't have anyone who's blocking progress at this position for prospects.