Davis Schneider named Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America

It's been a special season for Davis Schneider, who has a whole host of accomplishments to his name. Courtesy of Baseball America, you can now add 'Blue Jays 2023 Minor League Player Of The Year' to his ever-growing list of accolades.

Selected in the 28th round of the 2017 draft, expectations weren't exactly high when it came to Schneider. However, he deserves all the credit in the world for how he has persevered -- especially after at one point contemplating retirement -- and finally made his Major League dream become a reality this year.

The 24-year-old starting the season in Triple-A Buffalo, and proceeded to make people sit up and take notice. He produced a team-high 21 home runs to go along with 64 RBI and 72 walks in 87 games, on his way to a .275/.416/.553 slash line and .969 OPS.

Starting off with a bang

As a result, Schneider finally earned his call-up to the Blue Jays on Aug. 4. He also immediately announced his arrival to the Majors, by hitting a home run in his first MLB at-bat, at Fenway Park of all places.

The Berlin, New Jersey native proceeded to become the first player in Major League history with nine hits and two home runs in his first three games. Through 20 games he had a 1.358 OPS which, as per Sports Illustrated, was the best in the modern era with a minimum of 70 plate appearances.

Defensively, Schneider has provided sure hands with a .987 fielding percentage and just one error through 26 games to date. (He was a DH for his other five Major League appearances.) While he has mostly played at second base, his versatility means he has also seen time at third base and in left field.

Interestingly, the right-handed bat is currently in the first offensive slump of his Major League career, with no hits in his past six games. However, he's already undertaken adjustments to deal with opposing pitchers becoming more familiar with him, and there's no reason he cannot adapt again and continue to succeed.