How Blue Jays' Davis Schneider's recent adjustments led to everyday role
PHILADELPHIA — Outside the Toronto Blue Jays baseball operations division, the one particular person completely positive with how Davis Schneider‘s enjoying time was adjudicated earlier this season could have been Davis Schneider himself.
“Honestly, I think Schneids does a really good job of picking the right matchups for me and putting me in good spots,” the second baseman/outfielder Schneider mentioned of his supervisor, John Schneider. “I know that’s been a bit of a frowned-upon thing. But I think it does have a positive effect. It builds confidence in me. They’re saying, ‘Hey, we really want you in for this guy.’”
Throughout most of April, that man sometimes labored in areas of the zone Schneider’s good at getting his barrel to, with stuff that matches up properly along with his uppercut swing path. That meant Schneider was within the beginning lineup round 3 times per week, coming into late in video games as a pinch-hitter if the opposition introduced in a lefty to achieve platoon benefit on Daulton Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier or Cavan Biggio.
But a few week-and-a-half in the past, one thing modified. Beginning April 27, Schneider began six straight video games, and 9 of 10. The matchups not appeared to matter. Like on Wednesday when Schneider, who had one hit off a right-handed curveball in his big-league profession, began in opposition to Aaron Nola, a man with the most effective right-handed curveballs within the sport, over a slumping Biggio, who’s been the plate solely 5 occasions this month.
And he was not being lifted for pinch-hitters late. Over Toronto’s final 10 video games, Schneider has the fifth-most plate appearances on the group. Suddenly, he’s an day by day, each inning participant.
Part of that’s the Blue Jays pushing buttons and pulling levers across the margins of their roster in an try to kickstart a sputtering offence. Another half is outcomes. Schneider’s hitting .393/.514/.571 over that 10-game span with group highs in doubles (5) and walks (seven).
But it’s additionally about how Schneider’s attending to these outcomes. Year-over-year, he’s dramatically improved his skill to place his bat on the ball:
Davis Schneider contact charges
|
|
Contact % |
Z-Contact % |
Whiff % |
|
2023 |
64.9% |
67.8% |
37.3% |
|
2024 |
74.1% |
80.3% |
29.1% |
Schneider’s swinging at basically the identical clip he was final 12 months, each inside and outdoors the zone. But when he does, he’s connecting practically 10 per cent extra typically. And he’s significantly improved at making contact throughout the zone, arising empty on these pitches over 12 per cent much less often than he was in 2023.
That makes Schneider rather more playable in sub-optimal matchups. It permits him to place extra balls in play, spoil extra pitches, work deeper plate appearances, have a larger influence carrying down an opposition starter and do one thing productive even when he’s making an out.
Tuesday’s begin in opposition to Phillies sinkerballer Cristopher Sanchez was instance. The Blue Jays appeared collectively misplaced in opposition to Sanchez’s barrage of sinkers, changeups, and sliders down within the zone. Of their 33 plate appearances, 18 resulted in three pitches or fewer. A 3rd of Toronto’s starters noticed single-digit pitches on the evening.
And but, Schneider noticed 19 — second solely to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — and labored the group’s second-longest plate look of the sport. While he went 0-for-3 with a stroll, Schneider managed to foul off a team-high 5 pitches. Only one different Blue Jay — once more, Guerrero — fouled off as many as 4.
Last season, when the Blue Jays wanted a pesky plate look, or contact to maneuver a runner over, or somebody to get a ball to the outfield for a doable sacrifice fly, Schneider was the worst wager on the group — his contact price was Toronto’s lowest by over 5 share factors. His contact price within the zone was its lowest by seven. And each these numbers had been double-digits under MLB common.
This season, with Schneider making higher contact, the Blue Jays really feel extra assured in his skill to get to pitches he swung by means of a 12 months in the past. It makes an enormous distinction in how he may be deployed — and his influence on an opposition pitcher, which has knock-on results for his teammates. Schneider’s outcomes are going to wax and wane similar to all hitters. He received’t all the time be as scorching as he’s proper now. But if he can maintain his contact the place it’s, he can proceed to contribute even when balls aren’t falling in.
So, how’d he do it? Well, it begins with some latest changes to his swing. Here he’s dealing with Marcus Stroman throughout Mid-April:
And right here he’s a pair weeks later in opposition to Seth Lugo:
That’s a reasonably large distinction. From the set-up:
To the pre-swing transfer along with his entrance leg:
After utilizing a extra hunched stance with a toe faucet all through final season and early on this one, Schneider is now standing rather more upright and using an enormous leg kick that Josh Donaldson would describe as a tad aggressive.
The concept is to let Schneider keep on his again leg a tick longer, fairly than lunging ahead as he did when he toe-tapped, which supplies him an improved have a look at the ball. That’s allowed Schneider to make higher swing selections and, in live performance with some bat-path tendencies he’s labored to wash up with Blue Jays hitting coach Matt Hague, higher contact.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to be known as a big contact guy. But I’m definitely trying to swing at better pitches to make contact with,” Schneider mentioned. “I’m trying not to chase as much as I did at the end of last year. And part of that is seeing the ball a bit better.”
Schneider’s total method numbers have been distinctive ever since he reached the majors, and this 12 months he’s operating a chase price that ranks throughout the high 5 per cent of MLB hitters. But he’s proper — he did broaden the zone a bit greater than he sometimes does over his remaining 10 video games final season, which coincided with a 2-for-35 droop.
Now, it’s a miniscule pattern and Schneider’s chase price throughout that stretch was nonetheless among the many five-lowest on his group. But it felt dramatic to him. And coming into the low season, he vowed to right it.
“I was trying to do a bit too much at the end of last year. That’s why I was chasing. I was trying to force hits,” he mentioned. “But I can’t hit everything. And I’m pretty good at being selective. I’m realizing that. The mindset now is don’t try to hit things I can’t handle.”
The different a part of that is Schneider’s bat path, which has been tweaked barely to let him maintain his barrel within the zone longer than he was final season. Hague calls it “depth.” The pondering is the longer your bat’s within the zone, the extra room you will have for error.
If you’re late, you possibly can nonetheless hit a line drive the opposite method. If you’re early, you will have a greater likelihood of holding the ball honest to your pull aspect. And when you’re on time, your contact must be strong. It’s much like the swing path changes the Blue Jays had Ernie Clement make final 12 months, which suppressed his groundball price and helped him hit double-digit homers for the primary time in his profession.
“If you control your barrel, if your barrel’s working the right way, you’re going to make more contact. You’re going to see pitches a little bit better,” Schneider mentioned. “And I think my depth is right where it needs to be right now.”
What’s humorous is Schneider used a leg kick all through his minor-league profession till final May, when he was struggling at triple-A and, whereas working with Hague, adopted the toe faucet. Schneider’s numbers took off, he compelled his technique to the majors, and you understand the remaining.
But as big-league pitchers obtained a greater sense of what Schneider was making an attempt to do on the plate and commenced disrupting his timing, Hague steered he revert to the leg kick.
“My timing was all over the place. Sometimes I was early, sometimes I was late. I was jumping, I was dipping down, I was coming forward,” Schneider mentioned. “The leg kick timing just helps make sure I’m in the right spot every single time. It’s more repeatable for me than the toe tap. It’s more natural. I don’t have to think about it.”
Another profit: it’s helped Schneider barely shut the outlet in his swing on the high of the zone. Staying extra upright fairly than dipping as he swings retains Schneider’s eyeline increased and steadier, which has helped him acknowledge the elevated fastballs which have given him suits all through his profession.
Here’s instance from Wednesday in opposition to the Phillies. In a 2-2 depend in opposition to Orion Kerkering, Schneider takes a fastball above the zone he often chased final 12 months, then fouls off one other that got here in a bit decrease and will’ve been a known as third strike, finally attending to a slider away he takes for ball 4:
Last season, Schneider whiffed on 44 per cent of the pitches he went after within the higher third of the zone or increased. So far in 2024, he’s lowered that price to 36 per cent. Last season, Schneider fouled off solely 26 elevated pitches; this 12 months, in solely two-thirds as many plate appearances, he’s already fouled off 18.
“When we made the change, I didn’t really realize that was going to happen. But I feel like I’m seeing the high pitch easier and I can get on top of it better,” Schneider mentioned. “That’s helping me a lot. I just trust that I can handle fastballs up a lot better now. I’m not worried about them as much as I was last year.”
Schneider would possibly by no means hit properly in opposition to elevated fastballs. But meaning pitchers are by no means going to cease attacking him with them, both. The extra typically he can spoil these pitches and foul them off, extending his plate appearances and forcing pitchers to throw extra pitches, the higher likelihood he’ll give himself of attending to one thing decrease he can deal with.
And the better it’ll be for his group to place him within the lineup day by day. Believe it or not, fashionable managers think about extra than simply vibes and up to date, small-sample outcomes when filling out lineup playing cards.
Schneider’s big-league profession has begun brilliantly. But he’s enjoying in probably the most aggressive league on this planet in opposition to organizations with sturdy scouting and analysis departments furiously devising methods to get him to make outs. Staying within the majors, and sustaining success there, requires steady corrections and diversifications.
When the league adjusted to him late final season, Schneider rapidly discovered a technique to regulate again. And sooner or later, he would possibly regulate once more. You could not have seen the final of Schneider toe-tapping. What works at the moment won’t work tomorrow. Continuing to evolve and discover these issues that work is what issues.
“A lot of guys don’t necessarily like changing things up,” Schneider mentioned. “And I get it. There’s a motive why individuals are right here. This is the stance and the swing that obtained them right here.
“But, personally, I don’t believe you have to stick with one thing. I feel like sometimes change is good. If it doesn’t work, you just change back. If I don’t feel right that day, why carry that forward and feel bad in the box? Especially when you can switch something up and feel better.”
