Snider has only DH'd this year due to an elbow injury suffered during the spring. Despite his size, he is generally regarded as an average RF (by KLaw and others).

Yes, I understand and, in fact, wrote the following myself just three months ago:

The only rap against him is his body (5-11, 245) although he is an average runner at this point and his arm is good enough to play in right field.

That said, the elbow injury could still be an issue longer term, even if it only means that he loses playing time in the field and the experience that goes with it. His arm strength and speed are unlikely to improve over time, and I see him being relegated to LF and/or DH duties on a more full-time basis as he advances through the system.

Antonelli's power had been a question mark coming into last season, so it's likely we're just seeing a correction. He still looks like the new Bill Doran to me.

I agree, Geoff. I termed his 2007 power an "aberration" as he had "rarely, if ever, hit home runs in college, in the Cape Cod League, in his professional debut in 2006, or in the Arizona Fall League last year."

Antonelli might turn out to be a righthanded-hitting Todd Walker. Both were first round draft picks out of college, played 2B and 3B, and had similar BB, SO, XBH rates. Or perhaps Antonelli may end up somewhere between Walker and Mark Loretta. I know you would take those 2003 and 2004 seasons from the latter in a heartbeat.

A left-handed Billy Butler? That seems like an extremely odd comparison - Butler's as highly-rated as he is in large part because of his ability to hit for average, which owes a lot to him making consistent contact (and in the minors he struck out just 260 times in 1431 at-bats, or a respectable one K every 5.5 AB). Butler's strikeout rate steadily progressed as he moved up the minor league levels, and indeed in the big leagues so far too. Snider meanwhile has already gotten to 239 strikeouts in just 806 minor league at-bats (a very poor K every 3.3 AB), and he's seen the whiffs get consistently worse and worse with every promotion. His 63 strikeouts in 155 at-bats so far this year (one every 2.5) aren't just "more than one would like", they're positively crippling to chances of him hitting over .260. Maybe the rest of Snider's game is good enough that he can overcome that, but besides being young and not known for his fielding, I don't see much to suggest that Snider's game is going to resemble Butler's at all.

A left-handed Billy Butler? That seems like an extremely odd comparison

I guess we differ on this one. As I see it, Snider's and Butler's strikeout rates are about the only difference I can come up with. Both were not only drafted out of high school but were the 14th players selected overall. They have similar frames with big trunks, below-average speed, and defensive shortcomings. Both players have also been on a similar course of progression with each playing Rookie League their first season with Butler making a somewhat larger leap the following year (High-A and AA vs. Class A), AA as 20-year-olds, and the likelihood that Snider will match Butler next season at AAA (and, possibly, MLB).

One note in Snider's favor is the fact that his league environments have consistenly been more difficult for hitters than Butler's. For example, Snider played Rookie ball in the Appalachian League (league OPS of .702) whereas Butler played in the Pioneer League (league OPS of .799); Snider played A ball in the Midwest (.696) and Florida State (.696) vs. Butler in the California League (.809); Snider is playing AA in the Eastern (.735) vs. Butler in the Texas (.749 and .763). Snider's MiL OPS is .895 vs. a league average of .702. Butler's MiL OPS was .977 vs. .786. Snider's ratio (1.275) is actually better than Butler's (1.243).

The more difficult league environments will also affect such things as strikeout rates. While conceding the fact that Butler makes better contact than Snider, the difference may not be quite as dramatic as you stated. Their K/PA rates were not all that dissimilar in Rookie (.208 for Snider vs. .199 for Butler). Butler then improved his K rate (.186 in High-A) while Snider regressed (.250 in Class-A) in their second professional seasons. Butler continued to cut down on his whiffs in his third year whereas Snider has gone in the opposite direction. However, it is still early in the season and the potential remains for Snider to begin making better contact (although perhaps not to the same level as Butler). If his K rate continues to worsen, then I will have to re-examine my expectations for Snider.

In the meantime, I think these two players are much more alike than not and stand by my comps.

As of right now, Snider is looking much better then he did 3 weeks ago. He just took a wee bit to get used to the new pitchers.

He's gonna rake.

I think at the least he can be an average right fielder for the prime of his career then moved over to left and then onto 1b or DH for the twilight part of his career. While he is big, most of the comments you read view him as very athletic for a big man. Not clumsy and awkward.

As a Jays fan, I know a lot of hope rests with Snider. But, all things point to one thing.

He's gonna rake.

Snider went 6-for-16 with 2 2B, 3 HR, 2 BB/6 SO and ranked seventh in Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet for the week of May 16-22. Here is what Baseball America had to say about him:

"Still playing DH because of a sore elbow, Snider has continued to show the type power that gets prospect watchers and Blue Jays fans worked up—and he's doing it as one of the EL's youngest players. Though Snider's strikeout rate has been just as prodigious as his slugging thus far, he has taken small steps in the right direction in May, and he's starting to fall back to the pack of overall minor league strikeout leaders. In third place overall, he now leads Cameron Maybin by one whiff. Snider has batted .228/.350/.465 in 101 Double-A at-bats, even with strikeouts (42) about 40 percent of the time. Just imagine what he'll do when that rate levels off. Coming in to the year, he had fanned in 27 percent of his at-bats."