High School Baseball Preview: Jackson slugger still having a blast

Travis Snider has awed observers for years. Blast by blast.

As a sophomore, the Jackson High School baseball player belted a pair of home runs against Edmonds-Woodway in a loser-out Northwest 4A District game at Everett Memorial Stadium.

As a junior, he furthered his lore as one of the state's top power hitters when he smashed a shot heard round the state.

"Some people called it 'The Broadway Shot,' " said Snider, who signed with Arizona State but could opt for pro ball if he's drafted in the first three rounds in June, as many predict.

The Timberwolves left-handed slugger, who plays right field for the Mill Creek school, slammed one of the most memorable home runs in Everett Memorial Stadium history. Snider rocketed the homer over the netting about 500 feet to right-center field onto the pavement of Broadway Avenue.

"One of the Cascade coaches who's coached at the field for years, said he'd never seen a ball hit that far," Snider recalled of the blast that helped Jackson beat Kamiak 5-2.Snider isn't just a power hitter, as last spring's .524 batting average attests. He hit six home runs and 12 doubles to go with 26 runs batted in during the regular season on a team that finished 22-6 and took third in the Class 4A state playoffs.

"I hit for power, but I can hit for average," Snider said. "Basically, I got recruited and noticed because I swing it."

The Timberwolves are far from a one-man wrecking crew despite the 6-foot, 235-pound Snider being rated the No. 27 player in the nation and a preseason first-team All-American by Baseball America magazine.

Snider is considered by Baseball America as the No. 3 hitter in the nation and ranks No. 5 among outfielders overall. Baseballnorthwest.com named Snider the No. 1 senior in the state.

How good is Snider?

"He swings it as well as anyone I've ever coached in 25 years, and I coached Grady Sizemore with Everett Legion," said Jackson coach Kirk Nicholson, rating Snider ahead of Sizemore, a rising star for the Cleveland Indians. "Grady had a little bit better contact than Travis. But Travis has a little more pop than Grady."

Nicholson ranks Snider, Sizemore and 2002 Jackson graduate Brent Lillibridge, now in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization, as the three best players he's coached. He thinks Snider's future is filled with promise.

"People don't understand Travis' power," Nicholson said. "He doesn't get to hit good baseballs during practice because we'd lose them all. We bring out the bad baseballs when he hits.

"Major-league clubs don't fly people in just to see people play, but they're doing it with him. It's rare that people who make the decisions come in to see players."

Jackson is ranked 10th in Baseball America's most recent top-25 high-school poll. The Timberwolves return all but one starter from last season.

"Travis isn't the only guy on our team that has a chance to play pro ball," Nicholson said.

Geoff Brown, a left-handed junior pitcher, transferred from Kamiak and should bolster the Timberwolves' already strong pitching that features right-handers Kawika Emsley-Pai and Cam Nobles. Nobles has hit 93 mph on the radar gun.

"I think the biggest thing is the experience guys on this team have," Snider said. "Everyone has experience in the state playoffs throughout the club. Plus, we've got 10 to 12 guys who've been part of national-championship teams growing up. We've got a core group that played with the Seattle Stars summer team.

"I think it even goes back to Mill Creek Little League and that we all played together. Winning is something we're familiar with."

Snider is enjoying the ride that he hopes ends at the top with a career in major-league baseball.

"I've wanted to be a professional baseball player my whole life," he said. "The best way to describe what's going on is 'living the dream.' "