<p>Consider this &#8211; on May 11th, 2024, the Blue Jays erased an 8-2 deficit against the Minnesota Twins and eventually won the game 10-8.</p>
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
<p>Right-hander batter Davis Schneider went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs that Saturday afternoon. His slash line after the game stood at  .287/.388/.517 for the season &#8211; that&#8217;s a .906 OPS and a 159 wRC+ for Schneider, who at the time was the Blue Jays&#8217; primary leadoff hitter.</p>
<p>Since that day and 372 plate appearances, Schneider has amassed a .160/.255/.283 slash line with a .583 OPS, a 10.5% walk/33.6% strikeout rate, and a 57 wRC+.</p>
<p>What the heck happened? The simple answer is the league has adjusted to the way they attack Schneider at the plate, and he has yet to adjust back to them.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85291" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-1.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-1.png 600w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-1-300x300.png 300w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-1-150x150.png 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85290" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart.png 600w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-300x300.png 300w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-150x150.png 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>
<p>When he first came up in August of 2023, there wasn&#8217;t much data on how to attack Schneider, so pitchers simply challenged him in the zone, and he punished them for it. Once Schneider started accumulating more and more at-bats and the data became more and more stabilized, the league made a very simple adjustment: they stopped throwing him pitches right down the middle.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve watched Schneider over the last couple of years, you know that he&#8217;s a constant tinkerer; it seemed like every week he was debuting a new batting stance at the plate and constantly adjusting where he stands in the batter&#8217;s box.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-85292" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="664" height="664" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-300x300.png 300w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-150x150.png 150w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-768x768.png 768w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage.png 2000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 664px) 100vw, 664px" /><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85293" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-2.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" srcset="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-2.png 600w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-2-300x300.png 300w, https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-2-150x150.png 150w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>
<p>The biggest issue Schneider has faced is that if he&#8217;s not swinging at a pitch right down the middle, he&#8217;s not doing any damage against it.</p>
<p>Schneider has an uppercut swing, specifically geared to hit the ball in the air. The problem is he hasn&#8217;t been able to hone in on a quadrant of the strike zone where he&#8217;s constantly doing damage unless the pitch is a genuine meatball right down the middle. A complete reset may be for Schneider to return to the guy we saw in his brief stint in 2023 and the first couple of months of 2024.</p>
<p>Since his demotion to triple-A, he&#8217;s 2-for-23 with a 37.9% strikeout rate and a .087/.276/.130 slash line. He has one double and one RBI to his credit, but is working with a .406 OPS and six walks since being moved back down to Buffalo.</p>
<p>The best course of action for Schneider may be to send him to Dunedin, where he can undergo some real, tangible mechanical changes at the player development complex and build up some confidence again.</p>
<p>For a guy who has a knack for barreling baseballs at ideal launch angles while also demonstrating a very good recognition for the strike zone, there&#8217;s just no reason why Davis Schneider can&#8217;t be a useful piece on a major league roster. It may just require some mechanical changes to unlock it.</p>
<hr />
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>


Consider this - on May 11th, 2024, the Blue Jays erased an 8-2 deficit against the Minnesota Twins and eventually won the game 10-8.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
Right-hander batter Davis Schneider went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs that Saturday afternoon. His slash line after the game stood at  .287/.388/.517 for the season - that's a .906 OPS and a 159 wRC+ for Schneider, who at the time was the Blue Jays' primary leadoff hitter.

Since that day and 372 plate appearances, Schneider has amassed a .160/.255/.283 slash line with a .583 OPS, a 10.5% walk/33.6% strikeout rate, and a 57 wRC+.

What the heck happened? The simple answer is the league has adjusted to the way they attack Schneider at the plate, and he has yet to adjust back to them.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85291" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-1.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" /><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85290" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" />

When he first came up in August of 2023, there wasn't much data on how to attack Schneider, so pitchers simply challenged him in the zone, and he punished them for it. Once Schneider started accumulating more and more at-bats and the data became more and more stabilized, the league made a very simple adjustment: they stopped throwing him pitches right down the middle.

If you've watched Schneider over the last couple of years, you know that he's a constant tinkerer; it seemed like every week he was debuting a new batting stance at the plate and constantly adjusting where he stands in the batter's box.

<img class="alignnone wp-image-85292" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/Blank-3-Grids-Collage-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="664" height="664" /><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-85293" src="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/04/chart-2.png" alt="" width="600" height="600" />

The biggest issue Schneider has faced is that if he's not swinging at a pitch right down the middle, he's not doing any damage against it.

Schneider has an uppercut swing, specifically geared to hit the ball in the air. The problem is he hasn't been able to hone in on a quadrant of the strike zone where he's constantly doing damage unless the pitch is a genuine meatball right down the middle. A complete reset may be for Schneider to return to the guy we saw in his brief stint in 2023 and the first couple of months of 2024.

Since his demotion to triple-A, he's 2-for-23 with a 37.9% strikeout rate and a .087/.276/.130 slash line. He has one double and one RBI to his credit, but is working with a .406 OPS and six walks since being moved back down to Buffalo.

The best course of action for Schneider may be to send him to Dunedin, where he can undergo some real, tangible mechanical changes at the player development complex and build up some confidence again.

For a guy who has a knack for barreling baseballs at ideal launch angles while also demonstrating a very good recognition for the strike zone, there's just no reason why Davis Schneider can't be a useful piece on a major league roster. It may just require some mechanical changes to unlock it.

<hr />

<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

Blue Jays: Checking in on Davis Schneider since his return to triple-A

Recent articles from Damon

Breaking News