I saw Litsch throw about 40 pitches to minor leaguers in spring training back on April 1st or 2nd.  That's about 40 days ago.  He has probably pitched several times in extended games.

Litsch is always around the plate so it could be that the hitters were swinging early too.

Update:

MLB Team OPS as 1B:

• 26) CLE: .603
• 27) TEX:  .600
• 28) PIT: .564
• 29) BAL: .558
• 30) TOR: .491

OPS of 1B currently in AAA:

1. B.Wallace (23): 1.010
2. D.Johnson (30): .977
3. C.Richard (36):  .948
4. S.Duncan (30):  .943
5. C.Tracy (25): .878

Lansing won 7-1 today as Evan Crawford pitched eight strong innings.

New Hampshire are winning 9-2 in the sixth.  David Cooper has his first home run of the season.  Zach Stewart only went three innings.  The Fisher Cats nine runs have come on five hits.

I'm curious if all the people defending Snider's original spot in the batting order still feel he should be batting at the bottom of the order. It's been about 3 weeks already IMO that he's been having the best ABs on the team.

Snider's recent success after his very slow start probably tells us that Cito was absolutely right to keep Snider down there in a low pressure spot where he could just keep sticking with what was working until the hits finally started to drop in, no?

but yeah, now that he's not only having great at bats, but is also the best hitter on the team so far in May (maybe 2nd to Buck I'm not sure), it might be time to start considering moving him up in the order.

It was almost exactly at this point in one Carlos Delgado's first full season as a 24 year old that Cito moved the young slugger up from the bottom 3rd of the order and stuck him right in the 3-hole.....permanently.

"Yeah, I figure June 1st is probably the arrival date for Wallace"

And where will Overbay be? They're not releasing him, or demoting him, and can't trade him. Wallace is staying right where he is for a long while, sadly or not.

Why can't Overbay just turn into a quality bench bat for us for the rest of the year?  Like Lowell in Boston? why do we have to release him?

A bench with two bats like Overbay and Bautista, and defense  of those two along with JMac and Molina, starts turning that bench into a real strength, IMO.

"Why can't Overbay just turn into a quality bench bat for us for the rest of the year?"

Why not? Well, if he didn't like platooning last year, how is he going to feel about being a bench player this year going into FA?

not sure any vet is happy when the day comes where he becomes a bench player. I know that Lowell's not so charmed with being a bench player this year. I'm sure Papi is pretty steamed that he's becoming one too.

poor baby has to deal with it, and make the great epic sacrifice of collecting his $7 mil and playing out the contract he signed in the role where he can most benefit the team.

poor baby has to deal with it

You're calling Overbay a baby in anticipation of how you believe he would respond to a lesser role? Why not just wait for the scenario to play out and comment on the facts at the time?

If hitting 9th is such a mental trial, then Snider's overcoming this is good for developing his Baseball Intangibles and Character, no? If he's the sort to get bent out of shape over hitting 9th with less than a year's experience, then he's exactly the sort who needs to bat 9th until he's over it.

Of course, I don't actually believe that - I'm of the school of thought that it's most important that he's in the lineup every day and the lineup position is window dressing. I nearly had an aneurysm when Snider sat vs Saunders, the second time vs a lefty, and Overbay in an even worse slump was in the lineup. It didn't represent a trend, though, so all was forgiven pretty quickly.

If people think it's so important for the team that Snider hits higher in the lineup, isn't that proof positive that hitting higher in the lineup is a "more important" role and thus a "higher pressure" role? If you think where Snider hits in the lineup matters to the team, I have a hard time understanding the argument that moving him higher in the lineup WOULDN'T put more pressure on him.

As for hitting low in the lineup somehow hurting his confidence - I can't see that at all. As the 2nd youngest hitter in baseball, he's happy enough to be in the show, and I can't believe for a second that he actually feels insulted. 

But you're right in saying that there's no real way we can "prove" that hitting Snider low in the lineup has helped him.....but I think it's utterly logical that starting a kid low in the lineup would obviously give him the best opportunity to get comfortable in the bigs before moving up in the lineup....and I think the history of baseball tells us that most kids starting at the bottom and earning their way up the lineup is the best way to go.

And, of course, we have the history of Cito Gaston....who, as hitting coach and manager of this team, has had a surprisingly large number of stud lefty slugging prospects come up under his watch.....and from where I'm sitting, all of McGriff, Olerud, Delgado, Green, Lind, and now Snider look to have turned out alright (and, surprisingly, I can't think of one of them who HASN'T), so I think I'd have to defer to Cito's judgement on this matter......especially since Snidey is really starting to find his stride, and since I can't really believe that hitting in the bottom of the order for the first couple of months of his first full season as a 22 year old could ever hurt a player in any way.

I like "Lunchbox".

If's amusingly deprecating, but it indicates a hard-working blue-collar approach....and, let's face it, the kid IS built like a lunchbox.

Let me say once again how uncomfortable I am about us, people who do not know the players personally, giving the ballplayers nicknames.

Might as well call the guy Brocktoon.

This idea that as long as Snider is in the lineup everyday it doesn't matter where he hits in the order is utter nonsense, unless the people with this opinion NEVER care about a batting order. For the same reason you want Snider playing everyday, I want him near the heart of the order.

but I think it's utterly logical that starting a kid low in the lineup would obviously give him the best opportunity to get comfortable in the bigs before moving up in the lineup....and I think the history of baseball tells us that most kids starting at the bottom and earning their way up the lineup is the best way to go.

I'm sure many managers have had different managerial styles over the years, but it's a hard sell to pretend this is common practice nowadays. To touch on some recent young studs, Evan Longoria, Justin Upton, and Matt Wieters were all in the heart of the order by the time they had as many MLB ABs under their belt as Snider did heading into the year. It took Bobby Cox about 3 weeks to get Heyward out of the 7 spot, and at least there he wasn't batting LAST. If Snider's development was far enough along in the organization's eyes that it was time to start burning his service time at the MLB level (despite the fact this team wasn't expected to compete) then he should have been batting ahead of John Buck, Jose Bautista, and Alex Gonzalez from the start of the season (unless JB was leading off), 3 guys with proven track records that say they just aren't very good hitters.

This idea that as long as Snider is in the lineup everyday it doesn't matter where he hits in the order is utter nonsense

I thought it was generally accepted that batting order was one of the most blown out of proportion topics in baseball. If I recall, it means something in extreme examples, but most of the time (especially when dealing with one person) it's insignificant compared to so many other factors.

There's a fun lineup simulator at Baseball Musings to find a presumed optimal lineup (based on two criteria - OBP and SLG). I've filled it in with the ZIPS updated forecasts from Fangraphs. It's rudimentary, but it begins to illustrate the point as I remember it.

If the Jays of 2010 were in the same position as the Rays of 2008, I might feel differently about it.

The Blue Jays have the exact same record as that team, but I guess when you label yourself as non-competitive by slashing payroll 40% over 2 years and playing home games in your opponent's ballpark, it shouldn't come as a surprise when your fans stay away and decide before the season you can't compete, and continue to hold that line even after some positive results. I don't see how the Rays of early 2008 are any different to the Jays of early 2010.

Justin Upton was batting down in the order until he opened 2008 hitting .415/.447/.805 after 2 weeks.  That will capture a manager's attention.

Incredible - if you're going to defend, at least have it make some sense (and be factually correct) and not ignore my previous point. He was batting 6th by April 6th, and as I already pointed out, was well into the heart of the order by the time he had as many MLB PAs as Snider did heading into 2010 - Upton had less than half the 356 PA Snider carried into 2010. And even if he was moved because of 2 weeks of scorching play - Snider is hitting .375/.412/.729 over the last 2 weeks as the rest of the team has been pretty dismal, save for some unexpected and quite welcomed production from Lewis & Buck

I thought it was generally accepted that batting order was one of the most blown out of proportion topics in baseball.

Precisely why you shouldn't have removed the last half of my sentence, which was -  unless the people with this opinion NEVER care about a batting order.

Of course, there are other points of view that make your proclamation of 'utter nonsense' nonsense itself. Personally, I want Snider to play every day because I think it's paramount to his development (and in turn the progress of the team) that he get playing time. If you're also arguing from a development standpoint, then you'd have to acknowledge there's a good argument for hitting him in the leadoff spot (getting him the most at bats possible) or in the middle of the lineup (get him used to the role he's going to have). There's also a good argument for keeping him away from other lefties - give him an opportunity for more success by keeping him away from lefty specialists. Conversly, there's an argument for hitting Lewis, Lind, Snider and Overbay all in a row - get him lots of ABs against specialists so he can develop against them (this is the Tough Love approach). Given these options (and others as well, including Gaston's 'start at the bottom rung on the ladder' approach), I'm happy being a batting order agnostic. The important part (getting him in the lineup in the first place) is already done.

If you're arguing from a win-now standpoint, well... Are you going to start strictly platooning Snider? There are better options vs lefties than him. Bautista could take his spot when EE gets back (Ruiz would go in for Overbay). Of course, for that you'd need to think this team as currently constructed has a good chance at getting to 95 wins and needs to maximize every drop of winningness it can. I don't think you're advocating the win-now model, but there was a bit of ambiguity, so I'm throwing this out there just in case.

Either way, there are enough legitimate choices to be open for debate, and not nonsense. This actually reminds me of my idea for when Wallace comes up and settles into the lineup (and assuming his ability to handle lefties survives the transition). I'd hit him in front of Lind. I believe Wallace and Lind would be less vulnerable to lefties than Wallace and Snider, or especially Lind and Snider. I also think that opposing managers would be forced to bring their best lefty in for those two. Get a couple hitters separation between Lind and Snider, and it also makes it more likely Snider won't see a lefty. Of course, this is all down the road, when the personnel will probably change enough to render the idea moot.

The difference between the Rays of 2008 and the Jays of 2010 is talent on hand, and has absolutely nothing to do with fan support.  When Longoria arrived in late April, with the Rays having a winning record (thanks to a healthy boost from Lady Luck), it was pretty clear that the Rays had a decent chance at the playoffs.  I said so at the time, and I was not alone in that view.

I have a hard time accepting that a team coming off a 66 win season had more talent on hand than the current edition of the Blue Jays. There's nothing to suggest that, and to say that when Longoria came up on April 12th they had a "decent shot at the playoffs" is quite strange coming from someone who doesn't think the Blue Jays will be competitive before 2014-2015.

This isn't me trying to get the last word in, because I want to put an end to this silliness. However, let me just point out that I can say all the same nice things about the current Jays roster as you said about the Rays, nearly word for word. The only thing I can't lean on is the consensus top minor league system, about which I couldn't care any less - Hill, Lind, Romero, Marcum, Litsch, Rzepczysnki, etc...all received little to no love from the prospect experts and have turned out to be pretty valuable MLBers. The bottom line is the 2007 Rays won SIXTY SIX games, so for anybody to pretend they had a legitimate shot at contention on April 12th is quite strange, regardless of what you or your buddies thought about them heading into 2008. I felt the exact same way about the people pretending the Mariners as currently constructed were a playoff team this year or that the Orioles were on the verge of something special.