Astros: Prospect pitcher Cy Sneed quietly having a good spring

Cy Sneed is doing everything necessary to make the Astros opening day roster. But with all the pitching competition buzz, he seems to fly under the radar.

He’s not on the Astros list of Top 30 Prospects. The name Cy Sneed doesn’t come up in many conversations discussing the battle for starting rotation spots. You hear about some of the young prospects competing to fill out the bullpen. But what about Sneed? Where does he fit into the puzzle?

Most of his experience has been as a starter with some relief work sprinkled in throughout his career. But it appears Josh James, Framber Valdez, Austin Pruitt, and Jose Urquidy are the front runners for the starting rotation. A spot in the bullpen would most likely be where Sneed would land if he makes the 26-man roster.

Sneed has appeared in five games this spring and has put up some decent numbers that shouldn’t go unnoticed. His ERA sits at 2.00 with nine innings of work. He has given up two earned runs on seven hits while collecting seven strikeouts. Those two runs surrendered came in his second spring training game and he hasn’t allowed any runs since.

The 27-year-old has the advantage of a few more years of experience under his belt than a lot of the younger prospects vying for roster spots. Sneed was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

Although most of those six years as a professional has been in the Minor Leagues, it’s valuable experience nonetheless. And it definitely doesn’t hurt that he spent three of those seasons at the AAA level.

Sneed made his Major League debut with the Astros last season to fill in when Houston’s pitching staff was going through a spate of injuries. He went back and forth between Houston and Round Rock four times in 2019 spelling injured pitchers. He appeared in eight games with the Astros posting a 5.48 ERA and striking out 23 batters in 21.1 innings.

The recent news of the MLB suspending play for the remainder of spring training has in essence thrown a wrench into the works. Astros manager Dusty Baker and his coaches won’t have the advantage of two more weeks play to evaluate players. Could his five games of impressive work this spring and his six years of experience in the Minors help in the decision making?