Washington Nationals: Brandon Snyder Off To Fast Start In Spring Training

In his first five games in Washington Nationals spring training, Brandon Snyder has appeared to have made a good impression on the organization

While some of the Washington Nationals non-roster invitees don’t have much of a chance to make the Opening Day roster, they can still find a way to stand out to the manager and coaching staff for the future. One of the players that have done that so far is Brandon Snyder.

Through the first five games, Snyder has driven in a run in three of them. Plus, he has reached base in all five games (two walks). He is 3-for-7 with four RBI’s (tied for the team lead). It is a small sample size, but Dusty Baker said on Monday that Snyder is one of the players that have made a good impression besides the regulars

With not many regulars playing in Lakeland yesterday against the Detroit Tigers, Snyder was in the lineup, batting eighth and playing right field. In the third inning, he hit a single to center that drove in Jhonatan Solano that put the Nats up by a score of 3-0 against reliever Alex Wilson.

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Now, to be fair, yesterday was the first start Snyder made this spring and he hasn’t faced much Major League pitching. However, if there’s one thing Snyder has done that could help the Nats down the road, it’s his ability to play multiple positions.

In the first five games, Snyder has been in left field three times, right field once, and first base once. Over the course of his five-year career, the 30-year-old has played five or more games in right field, left field, first base, and third base.

Now, Snyder will most likely start the season at triple-A Syracuse if he stays with the Washington Nationals organization. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t make an impact off the bench should the team have some injuries. With the Braves last season, he did have some experience as a pinch hitter and was good at it.

Over the course of 31 at-bats, Snyder hit .290 with three home runs and eight RBI’s. He led the Braves in RBI’s and was tied for seventh among all pinch-hitters in the National League in that category. Also, his nine hits were tied for tenth in the NL and as many as Clint Robinson (Robiinson had 18 more at-bats).

Yes, Snyder is behind numerous first basemen on the depth chart (Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Lind, Robinson, Matt Skole just to name a few). However, being able to play a multitude of positions should help him as a utility player down the road.

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It’s only five games, but it’s never too early to make a good first impression. Down in West Palm Beach, Snyder has done just that.