David Popkins immediate impact on Toronto Blue Jays hitters visible early in 2026

David Popkins’ impact on the Toronto Blue Jays offense has been both immediate and significant since he took over as hitting coach in 2025, and the results are already carrying into the early part of the 2026 season.

In 2024, the year before Popkins arrived, Toronto ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball in Hard-Hit Percentage (HH%).

This metric, one of the simplest and most widely used measures of contact quality, is defined by Statcast as any batted ball with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher.

Just one year later, under Popkins’ guidance, the Blue Jays surged to 11th in HH%.

The improvement didn’t stop there. In 2024, with Guillermo Martinez as hitting coach, Toronto ranked 17th in team OPS.

In 2025, with Popkins at the helm, they jumped to third in all of MLB, trailing only the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Entering the 2025 season, the Blue Jays were searching for a philosophical reset at the plate. Popkins delivered exactly that.

His offensive approach emphasized selective aggression, attacking fastballs, and tailoring swing decisions to each individual hitter rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model.

The core message was simple: stick to your strengths and ensure you get your “A” swing off at least once per at-bat.

The results were transformative. Toronto’s offensive resurgence powered the club all the way to the World Series in 2025 and earned Popkins Baseball America’s MLB Coach of the Year honors.

Before joining the Blue Jays, Popkins served as hitting coach for the Minnesota Twins from 2022 to 2024.

During that span, the Twins consistently produced above-average offensive results despite operating with a relatively modest payroll.

In 2023, they finished with a top-seven OPS in MLB, while also gaining recognition for their postseason success.

Players frequently praised Popkins for his ability to translate complex hitting concepts into clear, actionable cues.

Carlos Correa, among others, credited him with helping maintain high-quality contact without compromising overall approach.

That combination of results and communication skills quickly established Popkins as one of the most sought-after young hitting minds in baseball.

His coaching foundation was built within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, where he worked from 2019 to 2021.

At the time, the Dodgers were at the forefront of progressive hitting development—incorporating bat-speed tracking, machine variability, and constraint-led training methods.

Popkins has often pointed to this experience as instrumental in shaping his philosophy.

At its core, his approach encourages hitters to understand their unique movement patterns, their “movement signature”, and leverage those strengths to create damage, rather than forcing themselves into a single, idealized version of a swing.

Through these methods and his behind-the-scenes influence, Popkins has helped transform the Blue Jays’ offense, turning what was once a weakness into a clear organizational strength going forward in 2026..

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