Although a left shoulder injury has limited him in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers thus far, Blake Snell has built quite the career for himself over 10 years in the Majors.
First debuting in 2016, Snell has won two Cy Young Awards, was an All-Star in 2018 and made the All-MLB First Team in 2023. He has also been the MLB ERA leader twice in his career, in 2018 and 2023.
Snell’s arrival came during a transitional period of sorts in MLB. The balance between offensive production and pitching supremacy has ebbed and flowed throughout MLB’s history.
Sometimes the scales have been tipped by artificial means, like the Steroid Era. But the most recent run of dominance by pitchers across the league has been a natural phenomenon.
There has arguably never been a more difficult time to be a hitter than it is right now, as pitchers who throw in the mid-90s and above are more prevalent than ever. Add in the ease with which pitchers are able to develop breaking balls and the sophistication of tunneling brought about by advancements in technology, and the steady decline in batting averages over the past 25 years isn’t all that surprising.
It seemingly prompted a response from MLB, with an adjustment of the strike zone for the 2025 season. During a recent appearance on “Dodger Talk with David Vassegh”, Snell said the change has been stark:
“It’s gone. There’s no high strike. It’s a belt strike and below to the knees. And the East
to West you get a little bit of, but the strike zone, they’ve completely taken it away.”
Snell believes MLB decided to limit the effectiveness of pitchers in this manner in order to give batters a better chance of being successful:
“They want hitters to be more successful, so you take away the most difficult pitches to
hit – the high heater.”
Across the league, there hasn’t been any notable changes in offensive production from where it was in 2024. Batting average, runs scored per game, and on-base plus slugging percentage are all almost identical. Although, strikeouts have been noticeably reduced from 8.48 to 8.25, which is the lowest mark since 2017.
Blake Snell updates
The Dodgers have been without Snell since April 6, when he was placed on the 15-day injured because of left shoulder inflammation. Snell has since been transferred to the 60-day IL but continues to work his way back to the mound.
Snell threw a bullpen session at Petco Park last week, and has since gotten off the mound twice more. Snell’s most recent bullpen session was at Dodger Stadium on June 16.
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