GUERRERO TAKES ANOTHER STEP ON PATH TO STARDOM
Blue JAYS’ mega-prospect joins bisons and tries his big bat against triple-a pitching
For roughly a half-hour on Tuesday afternoon on the infield at Coca-Cola Field, a group of reporters fired questions at uberprospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., looking for anything remotely interesting.
The media scrum had reached the point where some of the queries went off the grid and the session bottomed out when a local guy asked: “Does your grandma make you do your own laundry or do you do it?”
Guerrero replied that his grandmother doesn’t allow him to do his laundry.
And so there you have it.
On the other hand, Guerrero’s arrival at Triple-A Buffalo this week has become such a big story that Toronto Blue Jays fans will probably eat up — with relish — anything Guerrero says or does on the field, even the “news” that his grandmother has moved from New Hampshire to Buffalo to continue to look after her grandson as he continues his climb up the Blue Jays organizational ladder.
Tuesday night, Guerrero walked three times in his first three plate appearances, scored two runs, drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning, then grounded out in the eighth to complete his night in an 11-8 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
All the signs say the 19-year-old is destined for greatness. Guerrero, who signed as an international free agent with the Jays in 2015, has developed quicker than anyone anticipated. The Jays expected great things from the son of Hall of Famer Vlad Sr., and he has so far exceeded those expectations.
He’s a teenager who was promoted to Triple-A without anyone suggesting it’s been a rush job. Just the opposite.
The Montreal-born slugger started the year in the Gulf Coast League, with the Bisons — the last level before the big leagues — representing his fourth stop of the season.
Guerrero completely ate up pitching at Double-A New Hampshire. In 61 games with the Fisher Cats, he hit .402 with 14 homers and 60 RBI in 61 games, despite being the youngest player in all of Double-A.
If he had just 10 more plate appearances (he missed a little more than a month with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee), his average would qualify and be 45 points higher than any hitter in minor league ball. His .671 slugging percentage would also top all minor league hitters by an astounding 54 points.
So the move to Buffalo is no rush job. Everything about Guerrero screams real deal. Blue Jays fans, who haven’t had much to get excited about the last two seasons, are anxious to see what the kid can do against Triple-A pitching and whether the hype has been justified. The organization wants him to continue to work on his defence in the hopes that he can develop into a solid everyday third baseman and not just a major league DH.
“I’ve only seen him play one game. One game and one at-bat. So the excitement for me is just to see him go out there and perform and see if he’s as good as everybody says he is as a hitter and to help him get better as these games go on,” said Bisons manager Bobby Meacham.
“Every day he comes out here, my job is to help him improve. His first-step quickness, they say, has got a lot better and they say his arm strength has got better over the years. They say he’s really, really improved, especially his defence, and I’m really looking forward to seeing that.”
As for Triple-A pitching, Guerrero will see more and better change-ups and guys who can hit their spots.
Speaking through translator Rafael Dubois, the Bisons’ mental performance coach, Guerrero said he is not worried about the transition to the second-highest level of pro ball.
Guerrero was born in Canada, but doesn’t speak much English. Yet it’s clear he is totally unperturbed by this latest promotion or by all the hype. He was relaxed and confident, even dropping a couple of jokes, such as when he was asked if his grandmother made the trip with him to Buffalo.
“Of course,” he said.
“If I move to China, she comes with me.”
They say he’s really, really improved, especially his defence, and I’m really looking forward to seeing that. BOBBY MEACHAM, Buffalo Bisons Manager