One is a 6′3″ 230 pound right-handed hitter hailing from Texas, the other is 5′11″, 195 pound Venezuelan lefty. Coming off a season where they split time, the pair of Chris Snyder and Miguel Montero are looking at same playing time arrangement this year.
Snyder is coming off a season in which he hit .252 with 13 homers in 326 at bats, and is considered the starter by manager Bob Melvin. Despite the average offensive production, Melvin really likes the way that Snyder calls a game behind the dish.
“He knows our game plan going in and makes sure it’s followed through out there,” Melvin said in an interview with mlb.com. “Snyder did obviously quite a bit last year to thrust himself into a starting role.”
Montero, rated as the #5 prospect in the Diamondbacks organization in 2007 by Baseball America, hit .224 with 10 homers in 214 at bats in the 2007 campaign, provides a nice option off the bench for Melvin. He supplied a punch off the bench last year in the pinch hitting role. Montero went 7-20 with 3 homers as a pinch hitter.
The combination that Melvin has with Snyder and Montero should be a luxury that many other teams would love to have. As long as the production is there, the Diamondbacks can play both of them with confidence going into 2008.
