Six years ago, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made his mark as a prospect.
On March 27, 2018, the Blue Jays made their then annual trip to Montréal to end Spring Training, where Guerrero Jr. had a chance to bat in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. Guerrero Jr., who had just turned 19 at this point, hit a nuke to left-centre field, walking off the St. Louis Cardinals.
If you asked me: “Brennan, what made you start covering prospects”, I’d point to this exact moment. Almost immediately, I purchased MiLB.tv and watched Guerrero Jr. tear it up with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats where he slashed .402/.449/.671 with 14 homers in 266 plate appearances.
Later that season in Buffalo, Guerrero, who was still 19, slashed .336/.414/.564 with six homers in 128 plate appearances, and had a higher BB% (11.7%) than K% (7.8%). Guerrero Jr. would make his debut in 2019, with two “meh” seasons in 2019 and 2020 in the big leagues.
However, the 2021 season was and still remains his best career-season in the big leagues, as he slashed .311/.401/.601 with 48 home runs in 698 plate appearances, along with a 166 wRC+ and a 6.3 fWAR. That’s an MVP-calibre season, but he finished second in voting to Shohei Ohtani, and for good reason.
The last two seasons are in recent memory, but he hasn’t been able to reach his 2021 form in either 2022 or 2023. However, Guerrero Jr. had a fantastic Spring Training where he slashed .463/.511/.707 with three homers in 45 plate appearances for a 227 wRC+.
It really appears like Guerrero Jr. is in the best shape of his life, which was a similar feeling heading into that fantastic 2021 season. Hopefully, he puts the injuries behind him and can get back to raking, along with the rest of the Blue Jays.
For Montréal Expos fans, the Québec Government is spending $870 in renovations to fix the Olympic Stadium roof, according to this CBC.ca article. While in no means does that mean the team is coming back anytime soon, but it is of note!
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