Blue Jays – Davis Schneider pencilled in to the leadoff spot for the first time this season

The Toronto Blue Jays released their lineup earlier today for their evening matchup against the Minnesota Twins and there is a new face at the top of the lineup.

Davis Schneider, the team leader in OPS when you factor out Danny Jansen and his smaller sample size, is batting in the leadoff spot with George Springer out due to a sickness that has him and fellow outfielder Kevin Kiermaier on the bench.

When asked if Schneider would stay in the leadoff spot following today’s game, manager John Schneider was not committing to a permanent change, “I’m not ready to pull the plug on George. He’s still a huge part of our team. We’ll see how it goes tonight.”

The move for the time being makes sense on a few different levels based just on the stats alone, as Schneider has been one of the brighter points on a lacklustre Blue Jays offense through the first month and a half of the campaign.

Davis Schneider slots into the leadoff spot for the Blue Jays

The right-handed batter owns a .275/.383/.475 slash line while posting a .858 OPS with seven doubles and three home runs through 30 games this season.

At the plate, the New Jersey product has walked 12 times compared to 24 strikeouts and has collected 13 RBIs, sitting behind only Justin Turner, Daulton Varsho, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who all boast 16 apiece. Through 80 at-bats, Schneider has collected 22 hits and has some timely home runs on record, including a game-winning two-run shot against Houston that helped the Jays avoid a sweep against the Astros earlier in April.