Twenty-five games into the 2019 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays have finally called up the No. 1 prospect in baseball.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is set to make his big league debut Friday night at the Rogers Centre when Toronto plays host to the Oakland A’s.
Fans have been clamouring for Vladdy’s promotion to ‘The Show’ since last season, when it became painfully evident that the Blue Jays were nowhere near ready to become a contending team in the American League.
But general manager Ross Atkins played it cool, and correctly in my opinion, by waiting until now to promote the franchise’s top blue-chip prospect to the majors.
If the Jays had promoted Guerrero from the triple-A Buffalo Bisons prior to April 12 he would have become eligible for free agency in 2024. By playing the waiting game while they are in rebuild mode, the Jays get an extra year of control on his free agency eligibility.
Now that the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vladimir Guerrero is ready to launch his major league career, what should we expect from the 20-year-old phenom?
Vlad Jr. can swing the bat. He’s proven that at every level he’s played at and his numbers show it, but his play at third base will need to improve if he wants to continue to play the field.
In his four seasons in the minor leagues (288 games), the third baseman hit .331 with 44 home runs and 209 RBI. His OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) was .945. By comparison, his father played 306 minor league games and recorded a .346 batting average, 50 homers and 201 RBI, along with a .992 OPS. Clearly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
So I think the expectation is that Toronto’s new star player will put up similar numbers to his father, and if that’s the case, he will be considered worthy of induction into Cooperstown when all is said and done.
But I will also remind fans that the impressive stats may not come right away. His father’s first two years in the majors (nine games in 1996 and 99 in ’97) weren’t exactly Hall of Fame worthy. Guerrero hit .292 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI before he reached superstardom in year three.
For the sake of diehard Blue Jays fans, hopefully Vlad Jr.’s impact is more immediate.
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