Expectations, hype await Vladi Jr.
There hasn’t been a shortage of heavily anticipated debuts in the majors over the last five years. Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Julio Urías, Alex Reyes and Ronald Acuña Jr. are just a few young phenoms who have arrived in the big leagues with significant hype since 2015.
Already this year, Eloy Jiménez of the White Sox and Fernando Tatís, Jr., of the Padres have started their respective Rookie of the Year campaigns with plenty of national and local attention.
Despite the lofty expectations Bryant, Correa, Urías, Reyes, Acuña, Jiménez and Tatís carried into their big league debuts, though, they arguably didn’t create the buzz that is set to welcome Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., in Toronto.
We might need to go back 30 years to another Junior’s debut to find a more celebrated debut in the majors, but it’s difficult to compare because Hall of Fame Ken Griffey, Jr., joined the Seattle Mariners in a much different era long before social media.
The 6-foot-2, 250-pound Guerrero, Jr., turned 20 on March 16, a little more than a month ago. There will be growing pains. There always are. But greatness is expected.
Whatever the case, fans and media in Toronto, Montreal and the Dominican Republic have been waiting for Guerrero to debut with the Blue Jays since last September. The son of the Hall of Fame slugger has seemed ready for the majors since last season.
“From what I hear, the moment he gets there … he could be one of the best players in baseball,” Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo said at the winter meetings in December. “So that’s exciting.
“And again, being (a manager) at the Triple-A level for eight years, I know sometimes that doesn’t translate to the big leagues. But what they say about him, he’s going to translate and be one of the best players when everybody starts playing, so that’s exciting for me to hear. I’m looking forward to seeing it every day.”
The Vladi Jr. watch in Toronto began last September, but the Blue Jays decided against promoting him when rosters expanded.
Guerrero excelled at the Fall League, creating more of a buzz as the Vladi Jr. watch continued in spring training in Dunedin, Fla. That excitement was tempered when he suffered a left oblique injury in March, essentially ending his slim chances of earning a spot on the Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster.
Guerrero healed from his oblique injury and began the season with a four-game tuneup at Class A Dunedin, a level he had already surpassed last season when he went tore through Class A Dunedin, Class AA New Hampshire and 30 games at Class AAA Buffalo.
Buffalo is just a short drive from Toronto, literally and figuratively, for elite Blue Jays prospects. The Vladi Jr. watch heated up in earnest this weekend, and now it seems like only a matter of days, if not hours, before he’s in the majors.
He’s rated the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com.
“I am ready,” Guerrero told The Athletic recently.
It’s hard to argue that point with the young man.
He has a .331 batting average, .414 on-base percentage, .530 slugging percentage and .944 OPS over 286 games through parts of four seasons in the minor leagues while always being at least two years younger than the competition with the exception of rehab assignments or tuneups like the one this year at Dunedin.
He was 3.4 years younger than the competition at the Arizona Fall League, and he’s seven years younger than the average age in the Class AAA International League.
There’s nothing more the young third baseman need to show at Buffalo. He’s hitting .381 with two home runs and seven RBIs over six games at Class AAA Buffalo.
It’s time for him to start his career in his native Canada.
Yes, he was actually born in Montreal when his famous father played for the now-defunct Expos.
Vladi Jr. reminds many of his father on the field and off. Montoyo noticed the similarities this fall when he drove from his home in Tucson to watch him play in the Fall League.
“I talked to him a little bit,” Montoyo said. “And he seemed just like his dad, real humble and a good player.”
Guerrero has all the makings of a superstar. That much has been evident for a few years.
He’s ready to test himself in the majors and join Jiménez and Tatís in this impressive rookie class in the majors.
“If Vlad, Jr. is half of what his dad was, that’s going to be fun for us to watch,” Montoyo said in December. “I’m looking forward to seeing him play every day.”
Featured Image: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Instagram