David Popkins

David Joseph Popkins (born November 16, 1989) is an American professional baseball hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously coached in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. Popkins played college baseball for the UC Davis Aggies from 2009 to 2012, where he tied the program record for most hits in a single game with six. Following his collegiate career, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in June 2012. Popkins went on to play three seasons of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the Cardinals' system from 2012 to 2014, reaching Double-A before the conclusion of his playing career. After his playing career, Popkins joined the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in 2019 as a hitting coach for their minor league affiliates and held that role through the 2021 season. He then joined the Twins in 2022 and served as a hitting coach through the 2024 season. In 2025, Popkins joined the Blue Jays as a hitting coach, where he was named Baseball America's 2025 MLB Coach of the Year after the Blue Jays led MLB in several offensive categories and reached the 2025 World Series.