Travis Snider batted a lusty .357 over a 13-game stretch with two home runs and 17 RBIs following his recall from AAA on July 3. He has hit .154 since with one RBI and one extra-base hit. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

While the arrival of third-base prospect Brett Lawrie answers one question about the Blue Jays' immediate future, the demotion of fellow youngster Travis Snider brings many others to the forefront.

When will he return to the big leagues? Are his struggles at the major-league level simply a mechanical flaw in the 23-year-old's swing? Will he ever spend more than two months in a Toronto uniform?

Blue Jays management is hoping Lawrie, who will make his major league debut on Friday night in Baltimore, can take the opportunity of playing every day and finish out the season with the team. "We felt like he was ready," manager John Farrell told reporters.

The same was said about Snider when he returned from an earlier demotion to AAA Las Vegas on July 3. And 13 games later, no one would have blamed Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos for thinking Snider was on the cusp of reaching the potential expected for the first-round draft pick of the Jays out of high school in 2006.

Snider, 23, went on a tear at the plate, batting .357 (20-for-56) over that 13-game stretch with two home runs and 17 runs batted in. He has hit .154 since with one RBI and one extra-base hit, and was sent back to AAA on Thursday, prompting Farrell to relate Snider's troubles to a mechanical flaw.

Anthopoulos uttered the same words when Snider was farmed out in late April after hitting at a .184 clip with one homer through the Jays' opening 25 games.

"There's no doubt in my mind Travis is going to be a great player," said the GM at the time. "I think it's a bump in the road."

Bumps in the road have been more a part of Snider's game than consistent play during his short tenure with the Blue Jays. Some thought he broke in with the Jays one year too early in 2008 when he yo-yoed between the minor leagues and Toronto like utility player Mike McCoy this season, but with much less fanfare.

Slow start

In 2009, Snider got off to a slow start and then injured his wrist just as he was heating up, spending nearly three months on the disabled list.

Last season Snider suffered through another injury and bruised ego when he was straight-out optioned to AA New Hampshire for three weeks after receiving a clean bill of health. He returned to Toronto on July 30 and was in a platoon situation with fourth outfielder Fred Lewis. By September, Snider's bat came alive, but the hitting barrage was cut short by the end of the regular season.

So now, it's back to AAA and working with hitting coach Chad Mottola — whom Snider clicked with in his previous stay in Las Vegas — rather than work with the capable Dwayne Murphy in Toronto, the man who helped turn Jose Bautista into the biggest home run threat in the majors a year ago.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated when these things happen," Snider said, "but, again, when you put it all in perspective it's not a decision that I can control.

"It's a matter of getting back into the routine I established when I came back up [on July 3].…The key to staying here is to be consistent. I'm looking forward to seeing Chad and spending some time getting some things ironed out."

As with his good friend Snider, getting comfortable again in the field and at the plate was the key for Lawrie, who has made the transition from second base to third this season. In 69 games with Vegas, he made 16 errors, with the bulk coming earlier in the season.

Anthopoulos and Farrell seem confident in the timing of Lawrie's promotion, stating the 21-year-old from Langley, B.C., has "done everything we have asked at triple-A, in terms of changing positions, coming back from the broken hand [in early June], getting back into the flow of things."

The numbers — a .353 batting average in 69 games with the 51s, a team-leading 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and .415 on-base percentage — don't lie. Acquired from Milwaukee last December for starting pitcher Shaun Marcum, Lawrie appears to be something special.

Only time will tell if Lawrie can quickly reach his potential in the bigs or soon receive the Snider treatment.

"We try to put these players in the best position to have success when they come up here," said Anthopoulos. "You know you're not going to be 100 per cent sure. Like I always say, the likelihood with all young players is that they're probably going to have to go back down, but at least you want to do the best you can developmentally to prepare them for being up here.

"Hopefully now with Brett he can be up here to stay for the entire year."

Stay tuned.