Toronto Blue Jays rookie Davis Schneider made plenty of headlines when he broke out this summer, but home plate umpires have done their best to put a stop to that success.
According to Codify, no MLB batter has had a higher percentage of out-of-zone pitches called strikes against them than Schneider. Still, the 24-year-old second baseman is batting .270 with a .995 OPS since making his big league debut in August.
As a result of all the missed calls, though, strikeouts have plagued Schneider over the past few weeks.
Since Sept. 13, Schneider is 0-for-30 with 12 strikeouts and one walk. Prior to that point, he was hitting .370 with a 1.315 OPS – the highest mark to start a career in MLB history.
Even with Schneider falling ice cold, the Blue Jays have won three consecutive series, all against AL East opponents. Toronto has taken on the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays during Schneider's slump, going 7-2 overall in that span.
Schneider was held out of the lineup in three of the Blue Jays' last five games though, surely thanks in part to his shaky production as of late. Of course, a few of Schneider's strikeouts can be attributed to MLB-worst luck with umpires, but manager John Schneider isn't taking any chances with a playoff spot on the line.
Toronto is 87-69, giving the club a 2.5-game cushion in the AL Wild Card race with six games left on the schedule. FanGraphs gives the Blue Jays a 97.5% chance of making the postseason, compared to the 33.6% chance they had on Sept. 14.
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