Snell: Tosses five scoreless innings

Ian Snell was sharp, tossing five scoreless innings for the Pirates on Monday. Snell allowed four hits, struck out five and walked two. He hasn't allowed a run in his last three appearances, spanning 11 innings.

"The biggest difference for me this spring is I'm mixing up my pitches more and trying to mess with guys' heads a little more," Snell said. "Last year, I felt I relied on my fastball a little too much. I've changed things up a little bit and have kind of a new look."

Snell is slated to be Pittsburgh's No. 2 starter behind Zach Duke. The 25-year-old right-hander was 14-11 last year with a 4.74 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. In 32 games started, he threw 186 innings and racked up 169 K's.
Source: AP

Ian Snell K's Seven

Pirates starter Ian Snell struck out seven in Tuesday's spring game against the Phillies, but allowed three runs, three hits and two walks in three innings. Snell is a solid, hard-throwing young pitcher, but the sub-.500 Pirates make him more of a low-end Fantast starter. Snell has the potential to go over 200 innings and 180 strikeouts this season, though, so consider him if he's falling into the latter rounds.
Source: CBS SportsLine.com