Jays’ future gleams in 9-3 victory

SARASOTA, FL A .• Yes, it was just one game, a spring training exhibition tilt at that.

Throw all the disclaimers you want at the small stakes major league debut of two of the hottest Blue Jays prospects in years, but the 7,015 at Ed Smith Stadium on a chilly Thursday may not soon forget the Blue Jays launch of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

All Guerrero did was go 4- for- 5 in the Jays’ 9-3 win over Baltimore, muscling singles to left, centre and right and looking every bit the bigleague stud he’s projected to be.

Bichette, meanwhile held his own by going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.

“We know they’re good and the baseball world knows they’re good and they go out there and produce on their first day, they’ve got to feel really good,” said Jays manager John Gibbons.

Guerrero handled the DH role with the poise and power expected of him. The 18-year-old (he turns 19 next week and has a thick build that belies that age) is the top- ranked third baseman on MLB Pipeline’s list of prospects and No. 3 overall.

“He’s incredible,” said Bichette, who has come up through the Jays system with Guerrero, both at the A level with Lansing and Dunedin last season. “He’s one of those guys who can wake up out of bed and hit. What he did today definitely wasn’t very surprising, put it that way.”

Though normally a cool customer, the son of hall of hall of famer Vlad Sr., was clearly excited at the chance to put on a show, even with some jitters.

“I was nervous when I got out there but I was just trying to make contact and it worked out pretty well,” Guerrero said.

As for Bichette, his father — accomplished major leaguer Dante — was in the stands with his wife Mariana to capture their son’s big moment.

“It was just about having a fun day,” said Bichette, who recently turned 20 and played at second from the third inning on.