No one would be surprised if Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston opted to move rookie Travis Snider higher in the lineup, not with the keen eye the left fielder has displayed at the plate or the monstrous home runs he has launched.
Gaston is not quite ready to shift Snider out of the ninth spot of the batting order, though. Toronto's lineup has been firing on all cylinders in the season's first two weeks, so the manager does not believe a change is necessary right now. That makes Snider a powerful option to have in the last spot.
"I know you guys are saying, 'When are you going to move him up?'" Gaston said. "But he's doing fine down there. I'll leave him there for a while. If he continues to hit, and you've got guys in front of him that aren't hitting as well as he is, then you move him up. But right now, everybody is pretty much doing their thing."
Gaston has said since the early stages of Spring Training that he doesn't want to put too much pressure on Snider, either. The left fielder is only 21 years old and is only in his fourth season with the Blue Jays organization. Gaston believes hitting ninth can help Snider ease into things in his first full season in the Majors.
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