Sons of big-leaguers pace Lansing Lugnuts

If you’re a child of the 1990s, you may not want to read this. But the sons of Dante Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero are all grown up and making their mark as top prospects, writes David S. Glasier.

Professional baseball is the family business for Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts standouts Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guererro Jr.

They were hard at work at Classic Park on May 31 as the Lugnuts ushered out the month with a 7-0 victory over the Captains.

Bichette, a shortstop, is the 19-year-old son of former major-league outfielder Dante Bichette.

On a sunny afternoon in Eastlake, the younger Bichette was 3-for-4 with a solo home run. He raised his Midwest League-leading batting average to .381 with six home runs and 32 RBI. Guerrero, a third baseman, is the 18-year-old son of former major-league outfielder Vladimir Guerrero.

The younger Guerrero had a relatively uneventful day with a single and one run scored in four at-bats. He’s batting .327 with four home runs and 28 RBI.

The two fathers certainly made their marks during long playing careers.

In 14 seasons (1988-2001) with the Angels and four other teams, Bichette had a career batting average of. 299 with 274 home runs and 1,141 RBI. He was a fourtime National League All-Star while with the Rockies.

Guererro appears to be on the cusp of getting into the Hall of Fame after a 16year career with four teams that produced a career batting average of .318 with 449 home runs and 1,496 RBI. He made nine All-Star Game appearances and was the American League Most Valuable Player in 2004 with the Angels.

Lansing manager Cesar Martin said he can tell Bichette and Guererro know how to conduct themselves as professionals.

“With their dads in the big leagues, they have been in great environments since they were kids,” Martin said.

Bichette was selected by the Blue Jays in the second round of the June 2016 draft out of high school. Baseball America rates him as the No. 9 prospect in Toronto’s system.

“It definitely makes a big difference to grow up around the game, to learn from guys who are the best players in the world,” Bichette said.

Because he was 3 when his father retired, Bichette’s impressions of his father as a player come from watching him on videos or on the internet.

“He was a really smart hitter,” Bichette said of his father.

Guerrero signed as an international free agent with Toronto in the summer of 2015 for a reported $3.9 million bonus. Baseball America rates him as Toronto’s No. 1 prospect.

Unlike his Lansing teammate with big-league bloodlines, Guerrero did get to watch his father in the latter years of his career.

“I feel lucky I was able to watch him every day,” Guererro said through interpreter Rafael DuBois, Toronto’s minor-league mental performance coach.

In a separate interview, Bichette and Guererro both said the best professional advice they got from their fathers was to work hard and let their on-field play do the talking for them.

Quickly, cleanly played

A tidy 2 hours, 15 minutes was needed for the Lugnuts to even the threegame series at one game apiece.

In the top of the fourth, Lansing broke a scoreless tie by getting to Lake County starter and eventual loser Tanner Tully (24, 2.81 ERA) for four runs. The former Ohio State standout was effective on either side of that misstep, giving up five runs on seven hits in six innings. He had nine strikeouts and did not yield a walk.

Lansing starter Mike Ellenbest (2-4, 7.00 ERA) blanked the Captains on four hits over seven innings.

The Lugnuts improved to 28-22. Lake County slipped to 18-33.

Bichette

Guerrero Jr.