The Toronto Blue Jays drafted Florida Gators pitcher Kirby Snead with the 312th pick in the 10th round on Friday night.
Player Evaluation
At 6 foot even and 200 pounds, he lacks the prototypical size that you would see from a left-handed specialist in the pros. However, what he lacks in size he makes up for with a very deceptive delivery that throws the hitters timing off. Almost a sidearm delivery, he sports a fastball in the upper 80s that can get above 90, and a devastating slider with some real depth and sweeping action that comes in between 77-80 mph, which is a great difference for an off-speed pitch. His role with the Gators is exactly what it will be in the pros, a short reliever that will throw the majority of the time to left-handed hitters.
Career at Florida
Snead has had highly productive career at Florida with 99 career appearances (heading into the super regionals). He has 111 innings pitched, and a career ERA of 2.75. His 88 career strikeouts is indicative of his ability to get hitters to swing and miss. He has shown control issues at times with 22 base on balls. He is always available during his career at Florida, and you have to be with a coach like Kevin O’Sullivan. He did have an off the field issue before his sophomore season that involved A.J Puk, which resulted in a suspension. Other than that he has been very reliable and a good matchup for the Gators out of the bullpen.
Chances Snead returns
People will look at his draft position and assume he will be back in Orange and Blue next season. Not so fast. Snead may opt to go pro after this year, simply due the fact that he cannot really better his draft stock with another year in school. He will be a left-handed specialty reliever at the next level and he can add some speed to his fastball in a pro training facility. The odds seem in favor of Snead heading to the pros.