MIDDLE SCHOOL
Rookie is splitting his infield time between second and shortstop
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is working on two positions, second and short, and he’s finding time to hit wherever he plays.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a lot on his plate in his rookie season with the Blue Jays.
On top of the not-so-small task of getting acclimatized to the big leagues, the 24-year-old infielder is bouncing between second base and shortstop for Toronto, with 19 starts at the No. 4 position and 13 in the No. 6 role, where he began the Jays’ game against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
It’s probably not an ideal situation, manager John Gibbons conceded of Gurriel’s everchanging spot. Nor is it easy on Gurriel, he said. But the Jays want to get a good look at his play and see where his strengths lie.
“Guys have to do it sometimes to figure out who you are and what you are,” Gibbons said.
Gurriel doesn’t feel more comfortable at one position or the other, but he played more shortstop growing up. For him, balancing the two roles means less time spent working on the little things and more time mastering the basics.
“For example, you’re playing short you can work on your backhand for 30 minutes and the next day you can work on your forehand for 30 minutes … You might not work on your backhand at shortstop one day because the next day you’re playing at second base,” he said. “Everything depends on what I need and where I’m playing that day, I might work on that position a little bit more. If I play five, six days at short then I’ve got to make sure I go and practise a little bit of second because I might play there one day.”
It’s a lot of responsibility compared to playing just one position, Gurriel said.
While he doesn’t necessarily find the juggling act hard, it’s certainly not easy, and that’s before you add the offensive component. Gurriel, hitting .295 with five home runs and16 RBIs in 34 games, is riding a sevengame streak of at least two hits a game after going 2-for-4 on Tuesday night. He is only the second rookie in team history with such a streak, joining outfielder Al Woods, who went seven straight in1977. He is also the 13th player in club history to homer five or more times in his first 33 games, and his average entering Tuesday was third among American League rookies with at least 100 at-bats, behind the Yankees’ Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar.
Gurriel has learned to separate his offensive and defensive work. “I have not much free time, because I have to work a lot on my defence but also on my offence … I’ve got to manage my time and make sure I stay on top of everything that they ask me to do,” he said.
Gibobns feels Gurriel’s shorter throw and turns at second base on double plays could use more work. Improvement, he said, comes with repetition.
“Then it’s just playing because he has good feel, he’s got a good arm, he’s got good instincts,” the manager said. “It’s just playing and making your mistakes along the way.”
Gibbons likes that Gurriel can consistently put the barrel on the ball, can hit anybody’s fastball and can foul off good breaking balls to stay alive. He sees Gurriel toning down his strike zone and chasing fewer balls in his second stint in the big leagues this year.
“A lot of guys come to the big leagues and are aggressive at the plate,” Gibbons said. “Some tone it down, some are never able to do it, but it helps you.”
While Gurriel may need some polishing, Gibbons has high hopes for the Cuban prospect who signed a seven-year, $22 million deal with the Blue Jays in November 2016.
“I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player,” he said. “He’s got a great attitude, every day he’s got a smile on his face, he’s ready to play. And he can run the bases, he’s got some speed. Yeah, he’s got everything in his favour.”
“I feel like they trust me,” Gurriel said. “I feel like I’m a big part of the team now … I’m just trying to get better and better and hopefully I stick around a little bit more.”