This is the second post in a series taking a closer look at the Cubs non-roster Spring Training invitees pitchers – with the hope that one of them might break out similarly to how Brad Keller did last season. Or at least provide some organizational depth to the bullpen
Here is a great Twitter thread from Brendan Miller going through all the pitchers in camp, including the non-roster invitees:
https://x.com/brendan_cubs/status/2021429115208016238?s=20
Trying to figure out who to look at next, and I decided to go with Collin Snider, who is a Tread Athletics guy who was with the Mariners last season – exactly the same as Trent Thornton:
Snider has been in the majors for 4 seasons, with the Royals for the first two and the Mariners for the last two (with a brief waiver claim and dfa by the Diamondbacks between seasons). He was great in 2024, with a 1.94 ERA over 41.2 innings in 42 games. However, his xERA 3.96 and xFIP was 3.52, so it appears that he may have been somewhat lucky. 2025 was not as kind, as he had a 5.47 ERA in 26.1 innings, but his xFIP not as bad, at 4.10.
The Cubs picked him up in December, and Jason Ross of North Side baseball did a really good analysis here:
https://northsidebaseball.com/news-rumors/chicago-cubs/collin-snider-could-be-cubs-best-under-the-radar-offseason-signing-r2398/
He has seen a fairly dramatic velocity loss over his brief career. In his debut, he was only throwing 2-seam fastballs, but was averaging 96 mph, topping out at 98.9. He started also throwing 4-seamers in 2023, but he actually got more velocity on his sinker (95.8 mph for the 2-seam and 94.8 for the 4-seam). But things took a big dip in 2024:
| Season | 2-Seam (Sinker) Avg / Max | 4-Seam Avg / Max |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 96.0 / 98.9 | N/A |
| 2023 | 95.8 / 98.1 | 94.8 / 97.0 |
| 2024 | 94.6 / 95.5 | 94.2 / 96.3 |
| 2025 | 93.1 / 95.2 | 92.4 / 94.6 |
So, the average speed of his fastball in 2023 was faster than the highest speed of his fastball on 2025.
But was his fastball more effective when it was actually faster? It does not appear so. The OPS against his 2-seam in 2022 and 2023 was .981 and 1.228 respectively. Against his 4-seamer in 204 and 2025, the OPS was .616 and .657. It goes to show that velocity is not everything. Here is a video from Tread Athletics showing why his fastball may have been more effective:
He also has switched from being a primary sinker, slider pitcher in ’22 and ’23 to being a 4-seam, slider, cutter pitcher the last two seasons.
He introduced his cutter in 2023, and it was effective (.686 OPS), although used much less than his sinker and slider (14.2%). In 2024 he at a similar ratio (16.6%) to his other pitches, and the OPS against was .786. He used it much more in 2025 (24.1%), but it got pounded to the tune of a 1.266 OPS. The contact percentage against that pitch went from 66.7% to 76.8%, meaning it wasn’t fooling many. Location appears to be the big reason:
2023 Cutter locations:
2024 Cutter locations:
2025 Cutter locations:
In 2025, there were a lot more cutters that made it to the middle of the zone, which might explain why it was hit so hard. So why did Snider rely on that pitch so much?
Snider’s 2025 season hit a roadblock when he suffered a flexor strain in his right forearm in early June He spent a month on the IL, and then was terrible in a rehab start in AAA, with an 8.06 ERA. He did not make it back to the majors, and was DFA’d at the end of July to free up a roster spot. He was not claimed, and spent the rest of the season in AAA before being released.
Making a big difference for the Cubs in 2026 will be a longshot, but perhaps with full health he can recapture some of what he accomplished in 2024.
There does appear to be something of a pipeline of pitchers who Seattle did not have room for moving to the Cubs with some success, including Tyson Miller and Drew Pomeranz. I’m not sure why, but perhaps Trent Thornton or Collin Snider might be the next success story.
Cubs in 7 
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