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I was worried about Snell when we acquired him. His actual velocity (fastball and slider) and command have been in gradual decline, and his performance in his prime projects at best as a league-average AL pitcher.
The writer points out that Snell's short stride/early release is leading to a lower percieved velocity by the hitters as well. This adds another mechanic flaw that Snell would need to correct to tap into his upside (beyond the landing foot flaw).
The writer also points out another flaw that was mentioned by Doc earlier in the year. Snell is WAY too predictable in his pitching pattern. He pitches low and away to both RH/LH batters and doesn't utilize the high-fastball K (higher perceived velocity) as much as he should. This would help revive his SwS% and make his game less predictable, increasing his fastball run value. This particular flaw seems more correctable in the short-term if Snell would defer to the catcher.
With Seattle last year, Snell was AWFUL. His command and SwS% deteriorated further. Even so, I feel like the landing leg flaw and predictable pitching patterns are pretty correctable.. The stride unfortunetly we are going to have to deal with.
Snell is relatively cheap at $4.5mil next year and has a club options for the following two. The club can afford to try to fix him next year, but they really can't afford to project him as anything either than the #5 pitcher. We're going to need at least 1 more SP in the mix for '10 IMO.