In the name of their FATHERS
If hitting is hereditary, the Jays might be well-stocked
The sold-out crowd is here for the Independence Day fireworks, but the Blue Jays’ two hottest minor-league prospects don’t wait to light things up.
Shortstop Bo Bichette, a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, doubles in his first at-bat against the West Michigan Whitecaps, then scores when Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto’s marquee amateur free-agent signing a year earlier, doubles too.
The power display gives the Lansing Lugnuts an early lead, energizes Cooley Law School Stadium’s 11,499 spectators, and underscores why Bichette and Guerrero wouldn’t stick around the Midwest League much longer.
Five days earlier, the teenage sons of former majorleague stars were named to Futures Game, a showcase for minor-league standouts that is part of baseball’s all-star week. And in between the announce- ment and Sunday’s game, the two were promoted to the Florida State League to continue careers most observers see leading to stardom Toronto.
Blue Jays officials insist they won’t rush either player to the majors, but each accolade Bichette and Guerrero earn ratchets up anticipation among fans and media. The pair’s big-money bonuses and majorleague pedigrees intensify that expectation.
Bichette, the 19-year-old son of former Colorado Rockies slugger Dante Bichette, signed for $1.1 million after the 2016 draft. And Guerrero, whose dad is Expos legend Vladimir Guerrero, received a $3.9-million bonus.
As the two enter the final phase of their first full pro seasons, each seeks to keep delivering on the promise the bloodlines imply while cementing identities distinct from their famous fathers.
For Guerrero, it’s less a burden than an opportunity.
“Everywhere I went people said, ‘Look! It’s Guerrero’s kid!” he says in Spanish. “But I’ve never felt pressure because I have the last name Guerrero. I just keep giving 100 per cent of myself to lift the Guerrero name even higher.”
It’s tough to discuss the careers of Bichette and Guerrero outside the context of their fathers’ big league resumes. Dante Bichette is a four-time all-star who in 1995, led the National League in home runs (40), RBI (128) and slugging (.620). Guerrero Sr. batted .300 or better in 14 of 15 full major-league seasons.
“His brain is just baseball; one of the smartest kids, baseball-wise, I’ve ever seen.” JAYCE GANCHOU BO BICHETTE’S HIGH SCHOOL COACH
His eight-year stretch with the Expos included 234 home runs and a .323 batting average, and earned him a spot in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
The younger Guerrero says he was never forced to play baseball, but never considered doing anything else for a living. His uncle, former big-league utility player Wilton Guerrero, runs the academy in the Dominican Republic where he apprenticed. First cousin Gabriel Guerrero plays with the Reds’ Double-A affiliate.
Bichette’s dad encouraged him to play tennis and, though Bichette practised baseball daily, he only specialized after starting high school in St. Petersburg, Fla. His brother, Dante Jr., is with the Yankees’ Double-A farm team.
“I loved playing tennis,” Bo Bichette says. “I just didn’t love it enough to go out to the court for three hours and practise, but I was willing to do that for baseball. That’s kind of when I realized that baseball is where I should go.”
Bichette and Guerrero are among a number of second-generation pros in the Jays’ farm system. Outfielder Dwight Smith Jr.’s father played eight big-league seasons in the late 1980s and early 1990s; infielder Cavan Biggio’s dad is Craig Biggio, a hallof-famer who played 20 seasons with the Houston Astros. First baseman Kacy Clemens, drafted in June, is the son of Roger Clemens, who won two of his seven Cy Young awards in Toronto.
And last November the team signed Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the youngest son of Cuban baseball’s most prominent family. His father hit .323 over 20 seasons in Cuba’s National Series. Coaches, management and the players themselves agree growing up around a big leaguer confers an advantage, but they struggle to pinpoint it.
It could be heredity. Guerrero is solid and long-legged and runs with the same frantic, forward-leaning gait that carried his father to 40 stolen bases in 2002.
It could also be work ethic. The home-schooled Bichette would regularly log full batting cage sessions before afternoon practice with the team at Lakewood High School.
Blue Jays player development director Gil Kim suspects big-league fathers can also demystify elite baseball for their sons. “Without knowing how to quantify it, it does seem like it helps,” Kim says. They’re not in awe. They act like they belong. They act like they’ve been here before.” Because they have. Guerrero was born in Montreal and recalls playing with other Expos’ kids on his frequent visits there. Bichette, meanwhile, developed a rapport with current Blue Jay Troy Tulowitzki while his dad worked as the Rockies hitting coach. By the time he joined the team at Lakewood, Bichette didn’t need much technical instruction.
“His brain is just baseball; one of the smartest kids, baseball-wise, I’ve ever seen,” Lakewood head coach Jayce Ganchou says. “Once I got to pick his brain and find out what he was capa- ble of, I left him alone. What was I going to do? Change his swing?” For both players, hitting is a given. Before his promotion to Dunedin, Bichette was leading the Midwest League in most major batting categories, including batting (.384), OPS (1.071) and total bases (177).
In Wednesday’s game, Guerrero showcased his patience, earning a nine-pitch walk in the first inning. Then he showed his pop, launching a home run to the stadium concourse beyond left field. After batting .271 in rookie ball last summer, Guerrero Jr. hit .316 with an .888 OPS in Lansing.
But both took the field five hours before Wednesday’s game to field extra grounders. Kim says their progress through the Jays’ system depends on several factors, including sharpening their defensive skills.
“The offensive performance is without question, and it’s great to see,” Kim says. “What we’re most fired up about . . . is their commitment to their priority goals, and improving their defence.”
Living in Lansing allowed Bichette and Guerrero to burnish their reputations as future big-league hitters while still leading quiet private lives. They lived at the ballpark, in apartments built during a $24-million stadium renovation. Bichette occupied a unit beyond the centre-field fence, while Guerrero lived with his grandmother, Altagracia, in a dwelling overlooking left field. Both said they regularly walked the streets of Lansing unrecognized. But the internet has taken notice. Bichette gained online fame as a high schooler when he flipped his bat after a mammoth home run against a pitcher who had just attempted to bean him late in a playoff game. Guerrero added to his notoriety by going deep in the Midwest League’s home-run derby.
“I have kids telling me I’m their favourite player and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ ” Guerrero says. “I’m not even in the big leagues yet and I already have fans who love the way I play, so I give 100 per cent of myself on the field, and off the field I try to be a good person too.”
Midwest League pitchers were paying attention too. Bichette was started to see a pattern of pitches: outside, off-speed and in the dirt. After his double to open the West Michigan series, he went hitless over his next nine plate appearances, striking out four times. That dropped his average, over .400 in late June, to .383.
It was a slump by Bichette’s standards, but few expected it to last.
“He’s a little jumpy at the plate right now and we’re just trying to make him feel comfortable and slow everything down again,” Lugnuts hitting coach Donnie Murphy was saying after Wednesday’s game. “The good thing about him is, he makes adjustments really quick, and he can bust out three hits tomorrow.”
Or he can get promoted.
Lugnuts manager Cesar Martin called Bichette and Guerrero on Thursday to break the news. They’ll join the Jays’ advanced Class-A team in Dunedin, Fla., this week.
Bichette called his parents to tell them he was coming home. “They’re excited. Dunedin’s like 30 minutes away from my house. I’ve been playing my tail off for the chance to get the opportunity to go up there. It’s good to see the work paid off.”
As Bichette and Guerrero play their last game in Lansing, news of their promotion circulates through Twitter, setting eager Jays fans abuzz. Bichette singles on a line drive to right field, while Guerrero punctuates his farewell with a 420-foot homer to centre. Afterward Guerrero showers, changes and exits quickly while Bichette lingers in the clubhouse, still in his game pants and undershirt, sharing a last post-game meal with Lansing teammates.
Minutes later he heads to the locker room, where pitcher Osman Gutierrez wraps him in a congratulatory hug. Centre-fielder Rodrigo Orozco approaches cradling a crock pot in his left arm, with his right hand extended. The two slap palms and trade words before Orozco departs.
The next morning, the Lugnuts ride two hours down Interstate 69 to Ft. Wayne, Ind. for a four-game series against a San Diego Padres farm team.
Bichette and Guerrero are on a journey too, a big step closer to the majors.
Coaches and players agree growing up around a big leaguer confers an advantage, but they struggle to pinpoint it