Jays hope break helps Guerrero get on track

Expectations remain high for 21-year-old

The initial, over-the-top curiosity associated with Vlad Guerrero Jr. has in some ways become a curse when it comes to expectations tied to one of the most exciting home grown players in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history.

Fairly or otherwise, the weight of expectation is as much of a burden as the extra poundage the third baseman turned part-time first baseman/part-time designated hitter seems to be carrying with him early in this 2020 season.

And it is why that even though it’s just the small slice sample size of seven games into the abbreviated campaign, there is already an anxiousness tied to the sublimely talented 21-year-old.

“He’s struggling right now,” Jays manager Charlie Montoyo acknowledged in a recent Zoom conversations. “We have been facing good pitching and that has something to do with that. But it is only seven days. Hopefully this couple days off is going to give him a chance to regroup and I think he’ll be okay.

“He’s another guy I believe in.”

Normally, a seven-game stretch to start the season would be seen as just a statistical blip — good or bad — for a batter in any lineup. But if Guerrero continues to struggle through scheduled road games beginning Tuesday in Atlanta and then to Boston on the weekend, almost a quarter of the 60-game season will be behind him.

So with everything being so magnified and the spotlight on Guerrero heightened because of his defensive shift across the diamond, it’s difficult not to raise an eye at Vlad’s skimpy .172 batting average. There’s also just one RBI thus far, that courtesy of a solo home run, his only round tripper in the past 34 games.

It’s too early to panic, of course, but once weekend games in Philadelphia were postponed, Montoyo said that Guerrero was planning to spend extra time with Jays hitting coaches Guillermo Martinez and Dante Bichette during extra workouts as the team remained at Nationals Park in Washington.

If there is technical concern in Guerrero’s efforts so far is that he’s not driving the ball like he does when his swing is on, a flaw illustrated by three ground ball outs in the Jays’ most recent game against the Nats. But as you would expect, his teammates seem confident that the form which made Guerrero one of the most highly touted prospects of 2019 will emerge soon.

“He seems pretty confident in himself,” Jays shortstop Bo Bichette said on the weekend. “We’ve got to remember it’s seven games. Everybody in here knows he has the capability of being the best hitters in the world.”

It can be argued that the hype was unreasonable from the outset with Guerrero, but that is both the nature of the beast and a status the young player initially embraced. His coming out party at the

Home Run Derby in Cleveland last July certainly accelerated those expectations and there’s no looking back now.

“When you are not getting good results, you’re not feeling comfortable at the plate, obviously,” Hernandez said. “He’s working pretty hard. He’ll be the same Vladdy everybody knows pretty soon.”

TEOSCAR TEEING IT UP

If Guerrero is indeed uncomfortable a the plate, Hernandez is certainly feeling it as he holds the early team lead in homers (four), RBI (six) and among players who have appeared in more than three games, batting average (. 321.)

Jays management has long believed in the obvious talent the outfielder brings to the plate. The key has been for Hernandez to display consistency, something that could finally be on its way.

“I feel really good at the plate,” Hernandez said. “I’m trying to stay with the same plan I had at the end of last year, trying to look for good pitches that I can hit.

“I know I have the power that I can drive the ball out of the park. I’m just trying to stay focused and have more patience at the plate ... go with a plan and look for a pitch in the zone I can put a good swing on.”

Like so many of the Jays hitters, Hernandez’s fresh approach in the batters’ box comes from work with Dante

OUR TWO-STRIKE APPROACH IS A LOT BETTER THIS YEAR.

Bichette, who is officially listed as a major league coach with the Jays.

“He’s helping everyone here a lot,” Hernandez said of father of Bo. “Our two-strike approach is a lot better this year. We’re putting a lot of work into it.

“If you feel comfortable at the plate your confidence is high and the results are going to be there for you.”

AROUND THE BASES

The weekend off due to postponed games in Philadelphia has allowed Montoyo and pitching coach Pete Walker to tinker with their rotation for the three-game series against the Braves. Matt Shoemaker will take his regular spot on Tuesday but Hyun-Jin Ryu, who struggled in his most recent outing last Thursday, will get the ball for Wednesday’s second game. Nate Pearson, who made his major league debut in D.C., makes his second career start in Thursday’s series finale ... Walker on Ryu, who got hit hard for five runs in a loss to the Nats: “His stuff is close. He wasn’t happy with his breaking ball and change-up in the last outing, as far as movement.” ... Judging by pictures in the Buffalo News, upgrades to Sahlen Field are well under way in advance of the Jays scheduled home opener against the Marlins on Aug. 11. Included on the exterior is advertising in advance of the “Home Away From Home Opener.”