What is Davis Schneider's ceiling with Blue Jays?

Twenty-four-year-old rookie Davis Schneider had a historic start to his big-league career, becoming the first player in MLB history to record nine hits and two home runs in his first three games.

Video Transcript

NICK ASHBOURNE: David Schneider is the hottest name in Blue Jays baseball despite the fact he's a guy that most fans hadn't heard of at this time last year. The reason for that is that he's never been a big time prospect. This is a guy who was drafted in the 28th round back in 2017 out of high school and most players in that position opt to go to college and improve their standing as opposed to entering the pro ranks.

Schneider didn't and he worked his way up from rookie ball, low-A, AA, AAA, over the years and finally at the beginning of 2023 he was at AAA, where he was one of the best 10 hitters in the entire level. That brought him to the major leagues, where he had a truly historic debut. Now, over a three game series against the Boston Red Sox David Schneider had nine hits and two home runs. It was the first time that anyone had managed that in MLB history.

Sure, that's a little bit specific, it's a little bit weird he got qualifiers on that. It's not a record that's going to be one of the most famous ones in the books, but we're talking about decades and decades, over 100 years of MLB history and nobody has done that except for this guy who was drafted in the 28th round. He had the look, the mustache, the goggles. And suddenly, Blue Jays fans have a new folk hero to glom onto.

The question at this point is what's fair to expect from him going forward? Now, nobody and I mean nobody, not even prime Barry Bonds can hit as well as Schneider did in his first three games. But, this is a guy who is performing at a very high level in AAA. And if you look at projection systems, most of them are going to tell you that he looks like approximately a league average hitter or even better than that from here on out. That might not sound sexy, but the Blue Jays lineup has been in the middle of the pack for most of the season. Importing a league average hitter into that group, especially one who can do well against left handed pitching, something they've struggled with, is a real asset to the team. Maybe he won't live up to his folk hero status. Maybe he won't be a star, but he looks like a useful piece for this team down the line.

To be honest, this is a player who's been doubted and underestimated in essentially every single year of his professional career. It would surprise absolutely no one if he's able to find a level that's higher than the soul-less projection systems would have you believe. Sure, he's not a guy who hits the ball immensely hard. He's not one of the fastest players in the league.

He's not someone you can say right now this is a star. Instead, he's someone who's won with consistency, with having excellent discipline at the plate, choosing his spots to attack and being consistent. That's a great skill set, but it's one that will take a long time to figure out in terms of where he is at this level. For now, the Blue Jays have a guy who can help their team and someone that the fans are already immensely attached to.