Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s frustrating at-bats continue

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s frustrating at-bats continue

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated Jun 9, 2026 12:44 AM ET

The $500 million man for the Toronto Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., continues to search for his 2025 postseason power. He put up impeccable numbers across 18 games in last year's postseason with eight home runs, a 1.289 OPS, 15 RBIs and 18 runs scored.

But the 27-year-old's recent at-bats have been frustrating to watch. In the Blue Jays' 5-2 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies, Vladdy had two chances to cash in runners in scoring position.

In the sixth inning, he had two runners on base with NL Cy Young contender Cristopher Sanchez on the mound for the Phillies, and struck out. He then came in the eighth inning with two runners on base, representing the tying run, facing Brad Keller and yet again struck out.

Looking specifically at the sixth inning, his sequence of out-of-zone swings had him swing at two pitches outside of the zone while not swinging at two pitches that were strikes.

Swing decisions that have you question his approach at the plate. Before the Phillies series, Guerrero Jr. was optimistic that he was going to break out of his slump soon, stating, "I'm going to be good. When I get hot, I'll get hot."

Vladdy swung at pitch 1 and 3 and looked at pitch 2 and 4

These at bats are getting tough to watch pic.twitter.com/LnviIHSg2B
— Blue Jays Today (@TodayJays) June 9, 2026

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s lack of power continues

With the Blue Jays set to get key additions back in their lineup with Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer and Alejandro Kirk, this would be the optimal time for Vladdy to start heating up.

The clock is ticking, and if the Blue Jays want to go on a run, they need both Vladdy and George Springer to bring back their offensive mojo. In the absence of both Vladdy and Springer's offensive surge, Ernie Clement has been the Blue Jays' unsung hero, performing like an All-Star.

Despite holding a respectable .283 batting average, Vladdy has more stolen bases (5) than home runs (3) this season. But in his last seven games, he's struggled with a .154 batting average, with four strikeouts and one RBI.

Overall, unleashing the least productive power numbers in his career, with an xSLG of .428, a barrel rate of 6.8 % (36th percentile) and a chase rate of 31.4 %. A significant drop from 2025, where he held an impressive xSLG of .506, a barrel rate of 12.2% (76th percentile) and a chase rate of 21.5%.

But Vladdy is no lone wolf as a star player that is struggling to get things going. Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Alex Bregman, Cal Raleigh and Kyle Tucker are some to name.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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