The Evolution of Blake Snell: How the Dodgers Lefty Adapted, Overcame and Achieved Greatness
One year ago, when Blake Snell had to settle for a short-term deal with the Giants, the outcome wasn’t received with the proper level of shock that it should’ve been. Snell continued to be Snell and, as many could’ve predicted, opted out of the final year of his deal with San Francisco in order to sign a very lucrative contract with the Dodgers, one in line with his talent and track record.
The Dodgers had to fork up serious cash to get Snell, a $182 million contract complete with both a $52 million signing bonus as well as $66 million in deferred salary. Ultimately, when you shop at the deep end of the pool, you’ll spend more than you might’ve liked, but the argument is pretty clear that the Dodgers chose the right man for the job amidst a stacked free agent class.
Since the start of the 2022 season, Snell has been as dominant a starter as baseball has seen. While the Cy Young campaign in 2023 stands out, the production in the other two years were also top-notch.
Across this three-year period, here is where Snell ranks:
fourth in ERA (2.82)
third in FIP (2.98)
first in opponent batting average (.189); no one else is below .200
second in strikeout rate (32.4 percent)
eighth in strikeout-minus-walk rate (21 percent)
Perhaps out of all of those, the strikeout-to-walk ratio is actually the most impressive, because as we all know from many a year of seeing him in the NL West, Snell walks a lot of people. In fact, he is the only one in the top 80 of strikeout-minus-walk rate during this period with a walk rate above 10 percent (11.4).
