This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Davis Schneider had a dream debut Friday in Boston. 

The basic details of Schneider’s story were enough, even before he launched a home run over the Green Monster in his first career MLB at-bat. The former 28th-round Draft pick climbed every rung of the ladder, often playing complementary roles while higher-priority prospects got the regular reps. 

Schneider just kept producing, though, earning the tag of a fan favorite -- and coach’s favorite -- at every level. The Blue Jays couldn’t ignore his 21 home runs and .969 OPS in Triple-A any longer as their own lineup struggled, and Schneider made good on his first opportunity. 

“Wow, what a moment for him,” manager John Schneider said. “I wish everyone across Canada could have been in our dugout at that point. That was special for him, the team. You can’t really draw it up much better than that.”

I’ve had Schneider described to me as “Dan Uggla-ish” in terms of his physical build and general style of play, and it tracks. Schneider is stout and strong, and when you factor in the mustache, glasses and crisp pair of Nike Air Monarchs -- viewed as kind of a dad shoe -- he warmed up in on Friday at Fenway Park, you can see why fans flock to him. He’s the everyman, the underdog who made it.

Now, the Blue Jays need more: more from Davis Schneider, and more prospects like Davis Schneider.

WHY IT MATTERS

Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier are all free agents in two months. Whit Merrifield has an $18 million team option, while Paul DeJong has a $12.5 million team option. Following last offseason, when the Blue Jays didn’t have many glaring “needs,” this coming winter will look much different. 

They’ll need to fill these holes while other young players only grow more expensive. It’s possible a few of these players stick around, particularly Kiermaier, who I expect the Blue Jays to pursue a reunion with, but this club will have starting positions to fill and accomplishing that internally is the ideal outcome. 

It’s not something the Blue Jays have been able to do much of on the position player side, outside of the young core of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. I’m intentionally leaving out the pitching side here, because this roster lines up more naturally to spend on pitching while replacing some position players from within. If Ricky Tiedemann comes even close to his potential, developing a depth starter or two over the next couple of years should be enough.

THE CANDIDATES

2B/OF Davis Schneider: Picture Schneider in a role similar to Cavan Biggio, playing some second base and outfield. Schneider’s potential points towards more power in a bench role that still sees regular reps, but we’ll need to see how Schneider fares down the stretch as pitchers adapt to his game.

3B/SS/RF Addison Barger: Barger homered on Thursday and Friday in Triple-A and could help the Blue Jays down the stretch this season, too. Next year, consider him a factor at third base. If Toronto doesn’t bring back Chapman, expect the club to be active on the trade market. Would a short-term veteran make sense with Barger pushing to leapfrog him early? I think so.

1B/LF Spencer Horwitz: Horwitz would likely stick to first base in the big leagues, so think of the Belt role. It would make sense for the Blue Jays to look for a higher ceiling and more power, but if they choose to embrace the identity of a team that strings together hits and moves runners, Horwitz fits as an on-base machine.

SS/3B Orelvis Martinez: Martinez is the highest-ranked prospect on this list, per MLB Pipeline, but he’s still young for Triple-A at 21. He’ll have every opportunity to kick the door down next Spring Training, but I can see Martinez opening the year in Triple-A and needing to hit his way onto the roster. For his age, that’s a fine place to be, and his power potential remains ridiculous.

There are plenty of other candidates, including Otto Lopez, who could still profile as a versatile bench piece, or Rafael Lantigua, an underrated utilityman who owns a .411 OBP this season.

Remember that prospects are meant to break your heart, so this isn’t about all six of these prospects peaking at the same time and contributing immediately. Instead, this is a good “quantity” approach for the Blue Jays. If you have six names who are close to helping the big-league club and two of them truly work out, you’re in business … and likely saving yourself millions in free agency.