Why hiring David Popkins was the best move of the Blue Jays' offseason

With the start of the baseball season here, most of the conversations around the Toronto Blue Jays are about the players on the roster. Some are about about Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s bat. Other are about Bo Bichette's bounce-back potential or the state of the pitching staff.

And while that's all well and good, it's important to remember that Toronto made its most important move of the season awhile ago, and it didn’t involve a player.

It was hiring hitting coach David Popkins.

Let me be very clear: Popkins isn’t just a new hitting coach. He’s the most important figure in the Blue Jays dugout not wearing a jersey. He’s going to be the difference between this being another year of frustrating mediocrity and a year of Toronto entering October with firepower in its lineup.

Toronto’s lineup has been playing checkers in a chess league

In 2024, the Blue Jays finished 23rd in MLB in runs scored. Read that again. Twenty-third. Nine spots below the league average and only eight from the bottom.

For a lineup that includes Guerrero, Bichette, George Springer, and a boatload of promise, that’s not just disappointing. It’s embarrassing. The Blue Jays batted .241 as a team and slugged just .389. They were 26th in home runs. They weren’t just cold. They were lost.

This is a team built for fireworks, and we got sparklers. Something had to change... not in talent, but in approach.

Enter David Popkins, the hitting nerd with swagger

Popkins isn’t your old-school, “just put the ball in play” kind of coach. The 34-year-old former switch-hitter is part psychologist, part scientist, and part hype man.

Think Apple Genius Bar meets batting cage. He doesn’t just talk about launch angle and exit velocity, he explains it in a way players actually use.

The Twins hired him as their hitting coach in 2021, where the then-31-year-old became the youngest hitting coach in MLB. But don’t confuse youth with inexperience. Popkins immediately reshaped the Twins’ approach at the plate. In 2023, they finished in the top-10 in MLB in home runs and leaned into power, plate discipline, and situational awareness.

He’s direct, focused, and modern.

“I love damage,” Popkins said in a recent interview with Sportsnet. “But our goal is to be complete. That’s always going to be the goal.”

Here's a translation: Stop settling for weak contact and hope. Popkins wants doubles, bombs, and late-inning clutch hits. He wants to turn the Blue Jays lineup into a wrecking crew.

Why Popkins and the Jays are a perfect match

Here’s the twist, this isn't a total rebuild. This isn’t a team searching for talent. The bats are there. What’s been missing is a consistent offensive identity. Toronto's lineup has been trying to be everything at once: slap hitters one week, home run hitters the next. Their philosophy has ben a game of musical chairs.

Popkins will fix that and Blue Jays manager John Schneider knows it.

“David’s ability to game plan and connect with players in different ways is a really exciting addition," Schenider said in the press release announcing Popkins' hire. He’s a true expert in all types of hitting information and will help our offensive strategy for each game.”

He’s not just coaching, he’s communicating. And for a young, data-hungry roster, that’s exactly what you need.

Prediction: The 2025 Jays will rake

Let’s make this simple: the Blue Jays will finish top-10 in the league in runs scored in 2025. You read it here first. Guerrero will mash again. Bichette will be more disciplined. Expect a breakout year from a guy like Addison Barger or Davis Schneider. since they'll likely thrive using Popkins' patient yet aggressive approach.

This lineup is going to look different. There will be more walks. More power to all fields. Fewer cold stretches that last weeks. More of that 2015-type swagger.

The Blue Jays didn't need a miracle. They just needed a new voice, a modern plan, and someone who can get through to a talented, frustrated lineup.

Popkins is him. Opening Day is around the corner. And when this team starts hitting like a playoff squad again? Remember who told you first.