ARLINGTON, Texas — Daniel Schneemann has already played five different positions this season for the Cleveland Guardians. However, his defensive versatility is far from new, but Schneemann, 29, has also delivered impeccable defense no matter where the BYU product has played, with just one error in 135 total chances as of June 7.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt knows exactly how valuable the ex-Cougar has been to his team since making his big-league debut in June 2024. “He plays Gold Glove-level defense at four, five positions and gives you a quality at-bat. Obviously, his first month of the year was outstanding, had a tough May, but him driving the ball, we’re starting to see some signs of that,” Vogt said.
“But Daniel Schneemann’s been one of the most valuable players for us at least since he’s been up with us. Not many people in the league, if any, can do what he does as far as playing Gold Glove-level defense (at so many positions).”
So far this season, he’s played second base, shortstop, third base, center field and right field. In three games, he’s played multiple positions, which most recently happened on June 7 at Texas when he started the afternoon at third before a late-game switch to short.
“That (my versatility) is the way I get into the lineup. I’ve really embraced it and my goal is just to help the team win any way I can,” Schneemann said. “If I’m not swinging (it well) at the plate, hopefully I can move around, play some good defense, and help the team win that way.”
BYU days
Cougar fans remember his three seasons in Provo (2016-18), where he, his wife and daughters reside in the offseason. The other ex-Cougar currently in the big leagues, A’s reliever Justin Sterner, is his offseason workout partner, even if they have yet to face each other in a big-league game, something they both hope happens in the future.
“Yeah, it’s cool just seeing a guy from BYU make it. There’s not a lot of us,” Schneemann said. “There’s just something we can relate to and it’s grinding out of BYU. It’s cool just being competitors against each other. Being on the same big-league field is really cool.”
And speaking of standout Cougars, he admits he doesn’t watch a ton of NBA basketball but is looking forward to seeing ex-BYU superstar AJ Dybantsa be selected early — quite possibly No. 1 overall — in the 2026 NBA draft in late June.
“It’s always cool seeing players from the school that you went to thrive at the professional level. He’s not a professional yet, but I am sure wherever he gets drafted and whenever it is, it’s always going to be cool just seeing someone from your school succeed,” he said.
One aspect of being a BYU product, which never gets old, is seeing Cougar fans all over the country offer him a kind word, wanting an autograph or to take a photo. “Yeah, there’s BYU fans all over the country. Wherever we’re at, I usually hear a couple of ‘Go BYU,’ ‘Go Cougs.’ It’s cool and something I feel that is going to follow me my whole career,” Schneemann said.
Cleveland culture
In 2018, he was a 33rd-round pick of the Guardians. Now in his third season with Cleveland, playing for Vogt, in his third season as manager, has been a huge blessing because of the incredible culture which Vogt built with the Guardians.
“I haven’t been in other clubhouses before, but that’s just one of the things I feel like separates us from other teams. And I really think it goes a long way in helping us win games when everyone’s pulling for each other and you’re more worried about the team’s success than individual,” Schneemann said. “I think that just helps not just yourself but just helps the team win games. Vogt’s setting the tone and all of us following, when you’re not going to be one of the top spenders in the league, you got to be good at things like that.”
Not only has “Schnee,” as he is called in Guardians circles, played for the same manager all three seasons as a big-leaguer, he’s also in Year 2 of working with Grant Fink, a former hitting coach and roving instructor in Cleveland’s organization who he’d previously worked with in the minors and is now in his second season as the big-league hitting coach.
“Yeah, I’ve known him a long time. He was my hitting coach in, I think it was 2021 at (Low Single-A) Lake County, so I’ve had a really good relationship and he’s helped me grow as a hitter my whole career,” Schneemann said. “So, it’s just cool (having him here with the Guardians now). It’s cool just having someone that I already had a relationship join the team. He’s helped me a ton in my career, so I’m glad he’s here.”
‘My own worst critic’
Schneemann admits he is his own worst critic when it comes to evaluating his own performance and how his career has gone to date. But judging from what his manager and teammates say about him, he is clearly in a good spot with the Guardians.
“Yeah, feel good about it (my career thus far). I’m just trying to get better every single day at the plate and continue to get better moving around the diamond,” he said.
“There’s always areas of improvement. Honestly, I always feel like I should be doing better. I would definitely say (that I’m my own worst critic). Obviously, I love being here on this team, being in this clubhouse and in the major leagues, but I always want to continue to get better. That’s my goal.”
Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.