Saturday, August 02

Welcome back to the Guardians Beat newsletter. My name is Tim Stebbins, and this is my first season covering Cleveland for MLB.com.

CLEVELAND -- As a fellow late bloomer as a big league player, Stephen Vogt felt a sense of connection to Daniel Schneemann during his first Spring Training as the Guardians' manager last year.

“There’s a little soft spot in my heart for the 27-year-old that’s never been in the big leagues,” said Vogt, who made his MLB debut at 27 with the Rays on April 6, 2012. 

Schneemann was 27 when he made his MLB debut on June 2 last season. Before he became a Swiss Army knife defensively and a key offensive contributor for the Guardians, he was a 33rd-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. As the 1,003rd selection, the odds were stacked against him, and they looked longer four years into his pro career. 

Schneemann hit .202 with a .570 OPS over 114 games in 2022, during which he largely was with Double-A Akron (112 games). Then 25 years old, his road to the big leagues appeared cloudy. He recognized he had to do something different offensively to get where he wanted to go.

“There were just a lot of things I needed to change, I felt like, if I wanted to make the big leagues,” Schneemann said. “I didn't really have any power whatsoever. I had a little less swing and miss. I just tried doing a little more damage at the plate, being OK with a little more swing and miss.”

The Guardians long believed in Schneemann’s strong command of the strike zone, his ability to see the ball deep into the zone and his knack to put the bat on the ball. But they also felt there was more to tap into while he was in the Minors. 

As Schneemann described it, he worked over the 2022 offseason on trying to drive the ball in the air to the middle of the field more, on keeping his barrel in the zone longer and getting stronger. He made it a focus in batting practice, and the repetition helped him nail down the new feel and help it translate to games.

Guardians vice president of hitting Alex Eckelman noted Schneemann previously had a longer stride in the box, which slowed him down but allowed him to see the ball and put the ball in play. They worked through how he could aggressively load in the batter’s box and get a swing off with an intent to do damage.

“We just felt like, ‘Man, there's more in who you are in the back from making an impact,’” Eckelman said. “It was basically trusting the information that we had, the vision that we had, he had for himself. 

“... He was that guy who at that time was, ‘Hey, I need to put the ball in play and get hits so that I can keep playing.’ And it took a leap of faith to be like, ‘You know what? No, I need to make a change in who I am to some extent. Use what I do well, but make a change and trust it,’ to become the best version of himself.”

Schneemann has long had a relationship with Guardians hitting coach Grant Fink and assistant hitting coach Jason Esposito, who each were Minor League coaches in the organization before being promoted to the big league staff. He credited them for helping him along the way, as his adjustments have yielded impressive results.

Schneemann had a .797 OPS in 114 games with Triple-A Columbus in 2023 and a .984 OPS in ’24, before his June 2 promotion to the Majors. He slashed .218/.303/.368 in 73 games with Cleveland last season and has taken another step this season.

In 51 games (entering Wednesday), Schneemann had a .246/.331/.444 slash line. His strikeout rate has improved to 24.8 percent (31.7 in ’23), and his walk rate (11.2 percent) has stood steady from last season (11.3). He’s hitting for more power and maintaining his good command of the zone. All the while, Schneemann has played second and third base, shortstop and each outfield spot.

There’s a general truism in baseball that player development is not a linear process. No matter your prospect status, there’s no blueprint to reach and stick in the big leagues. Schneemann exemplifies that.

“I want to play well, no matter where I'm at,” Schneemann said. “I don’t want to just be satisfied, ‘Oh, you make it one day and then you're never in the big leagues again.’ … Just the love for the game. You want to support your family. Those things all just give you more motivation to continue to get better.”

Looking for something to get your dad for Father’s Day? CLEGuardians.TV is available for 50 percent off for the rest of the season, at $37.99, if you subscribe between now and June 17. Fans can stream Guardians games in the Cleveland area with no blackouts (subject to national broadcast exclusives). More information on how to subscribe is available here.

• Terry Francona received a warm welcome as he returned to Cleveland this week. Read more >>

• These players’ stocks are rising as we get closer to the start of trade season. Read more >>

• Lane Thomas’ return from the injured list was a welcomed sight for the Guardians’ lineup. Read more >>

“The more time you spend in the Minor Leagues, you always start to wonder, ‘If this doesn't work, what am I going to do?’ That drove me to work harder. I'm like, ‘I don't want to do anything else, I don't want to get a real job. I want to play baseball.’ Everyone’s wired differently, but I think everybody's journey is very different. Everybody's experiences are very different. No one has the same path to the big leagues or the same experiences. So you can only be a product of your own story.” -- Vogt

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