Getting to the Bottom of the Blake Snell Debate – Overrated or Underrated?

Blake Snell – one of the most fascinating names in baseball currently. His career has been filled with the kind of contradictions that one rarely sees. An individual who has seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Snell’s achievements, his failures, and everything in between make for an unbelievable tale of perseverance, belief, and immense talent. Yet even after all of this, for some reason, the Snellzilla remains hidden. 

That perception extends past fans into the executives as well. In a sport filled with superstars and big characters, the relaxed and smiling Snell finds himself under the radar. But with a career that has seen him etch his name in the annals of history, it’s becoming difficult to deny the greatness of Snell. But the question is, will Snell ever find a long-overdue reward for his talents?

Why Blake Snell deserves a bigger applause

Few player’s debuts create a perfect picture of what their careers would be – Snell’s was one such debut. A visibly nervous Snell debuted against the New York Yankees in 2016 and, in his first innings, gave away a run due to a wayward pitch. However, in the very next inning, he struck out the side. This type of dual nature has been a fixture of his career ever since.

But one thing cannot be denied when Snell is in form: he is an ‘inconsistent‘ beast from the mound. What makes him special is how he always thinks ahead. This fact is amplified by Snell’s 2023 season. While he led the league with a 2.25 ERA, he also allowed 99 walks – the highest in the league.

For Snell, this was a strategy. If he fell behind a batter, he’d rather give him the walk and try again on the next batter. This strategy works as the former Padres ace always removes the next batters. This is the sheer genius of Snell, something that gets hidden behind his light-hearted jokes. So does he deserve a bigger applause?

Statistics don’t lie: A look into his career so far

One thing has been constant throughout Snell’s career – his ability to strike out batters. According to Baseball Reference, apart from his first two years, the 31YO has maintained an average of 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings. This means on average Snell has struck out more than one batter per inning. In fact, with a career rate of 11.09, he ranks amongst the best in baseball history.

With a WHIP of 1.23 and 1223 strikeouts, Snell’s domination after stepping onto the mound cannot be overstated. Even during his relatively down years in 2021 and 2022, Snell managed to have 170+ strikeouts. Had he been fit, a case can be made that Snell would’ve done much better. So is it a surprise that when he was fit in 2023, things just took off? With a 2.25 ERA and 234 Strikeouts, Snell absolutely dominated in the final season before his free agency. 

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But even more importantly, Snell’s class remains regardless of where he’s pitching. He proved this by winning Cy Young awards in wildly different situations.

Win after win: His two consecutive Cy Young awards justify he is one of the most chased ones

Blake Snell is only the 7th pitcher to win a Cy Young award in AL and NL. What makes this record impressive is the journey that he embarked on for these awards. In 2018, Snell was in the Tampa Bay Rays – a famously low-budget team. That was perhaps one of the greatest years ever seen by a pitcher in MLB. With a 21-5 record as well as an ERA of 1.89, Snell had no peers. 

On the other hand, he won his second Cy Young award playing for the San Diego Padres in 2023. Notably, the Friars had the third-largest payroll in the league but were massively underperforming. Snell could’ve easily succumbed to the pressure, but instead, he found a rebirth. Though his record was just 14-9, Snell had turned himself into a massive clutch player, something that the Padres were desperate for.

So Snell has made history in a well-oiled machine as well as an underperforming squad. This versatility and consistency are rarely found, but even the SnellZilla has a few holes in his armor.

Area of concern: Problems that keep teams away from Blake Snell in the MLB off-season

Unlike other aces, Snell has rarely pitched above six innings in a game. Despite playing 191 games, the ace is yet to touch a 1000 innings pitched. Sometimes the coaches save his body and sometimes he overexerts in the first five innings. The bigger worry is that sometimes Snell lets his thoughts get the better of him in the field.

In The Players Tribune in 2021 Snell shared how he got nervous when he saw a reliever warming up during the sixth inning of the 2020 World Series. “It just triggered my mind and put all sorts of uncertainty in my head. It absolutely messed up my thought process…Seeing our guy warming up like that … I’m just being real: It wrecked my whole rhythm, everything I had built up over the entire game.” 

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Snell had pitched a shutout till then but he gave up a hit and suddenly he was removed from the pitch. The Rays lost that game and the Fall Classic. But Snell has learned from that and is now mentally stronger than ever. As a result, the question arises: will he ever get his due?

A long overdue: Will Blake Snell finally get his reward? 

Snell finally entered into his free agency in 2023, but executives were still scared to invest in him. A player who has proved time and again still elicits doubts, not because he was bad but because he couldn’t maintain the stratospheric standards that he had created for himself. A career that should be celebrated has remained out of the public eye. Yet things could change soon.

A genius pitcher like Snell comes once in a while. Teams like the Yankees and San Francisco Giants would love a player who has seen it all. During his lowest points, Snell remained firm and believed in his abilities. In 2023, he made the world believe in him and showed how there was still a lot of gas left in his tank. This free agency could be the way for him to get much-needed recognition for his baseball brilliance. 

Even if he doesn’t, one can make a bet that Snell will still step on that mound and find a way to manipulate that ball to his will as only he can. Snell will keep doing that until the world acknowledges his generational talent.

Read more: Blake Snell’s Free Agency Set to Extend Past Spring Training? Scott Boras Plays Waiting Game, Eyes Mega Deal