In some sports, the choice for Sporting News’ Faces of 2019 series was easier than others.
For baseball, the only real option was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Not only is the potential superstar baseball’s best prospect on the cusp of making the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays, but his adorable 3-year-old face left an indelible mark on the baseball field in 2002, when his Hall of Fame-bound father was a star for the Montreal Expos.
MORE: Vlad Jr. says he’s start in 2019: “I believe I am ready”
Who can forget tiny Vlad Jr., doffing his cap to the adoring crowd at Olympic Stadium? If you haven’t seen the pictures, take a look now.
The younger Vlad was back in Montreal last spring, this time as a player, drawing an unforgettable standing ovation. The Blue Jays were playing the Cardinals at Olympic Stadium in the final exhibition game of the spring, and the game rolled into the ninth inning, tied at 1-1. Junior sent everyone home with a no-doubt home run just to the left of center field.
He had just turned 19 years old less than two weeks earlier.
Blue Jays fans were ready to see Guerrero in the majors immediately, but the parent club spent the 2018 season preaching patience, even though Guerrero spent the summer proving that probably wasn’t necessary. In 61 games playing for Toronto’s Double-A team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Guerrero hit .402 — not a typo — with a 1.120 OPS, 14 homers, 60 RBIs, 21 walks and only 27 strikeouts.
The Blue Jays moved him up to Triple-A Buffalo for the rest of his season, and he continued to rip through minor-league pitching. In 30 games, he batted .336 with a .978 OPS, six more home runs, 15 walks and only 10 strikeouts.
Ridiculous, really.
Charlie Montoyo, a baseball lifer whose background is heavy in player development in the minor leagues, was named the Blue Jays’ new manager in late October. He wasted no time heading to the Arizona Fall League to watch Guerrero play and get to know the new face of the Blue Jays franchise. Montoyo said Junior seemed just like Senior — a humble, good ballplayer.
“From the moment he gets there … he could be one of the best players in baseball. So that’s exciting,” Montoyo said at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. “And again, being 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.”
FLASHBACK: Vlad. Jr. among Jays minor leaguers carving own name amid family shadow
Guerrero, by the way, hit .351 with 17 RBIs in 19 games in the AFL, though it should be noted that statistics in that league are notoriously unreliable, in large part because clubs often send their players there with specific areas of their game (two-strike approach, etc) to work on, and those instructions can skew overall results and statistics.
Want statistics you should be very impressed by?
In his three seasons of affiliated baseball covering 276 games, Guerrero has more walks (146) than strikeouts (135) — at ages 17, 18 and 19. That innate ability to make contact is something he seems to have inherited from his dad — who never struck out more than 95 times in a major-league season and, in fact, struck out more than 77 times just twice — and has actually improved on.
“They’re very similar in their swing. I would say the difference between Vlad Sr. and Vlad Jr. is that Vlad Jr. is a little more selective than his dad was,” Donnie Murphy, who was Junior’s hitting coach at Single-A Lansing in 2014, told Sporting News last summer. “I guarantee you everyone will say the same thing: His dad could hit a ball off the ground and Vlad’s really good at recognizing pitches out of hand and he’s really good at picking up at what pitchers are trying to do. Even though sometimes he looks out of control, he still has a great game plan every time.”
Let’s compare those numbers to three current superstars who flew threw the minor-leagues out of high school.
Mike Trout struck out 211 times and walked 151 times in 286 minor-league games.
Manny Machado struck out 146 times and walked 96 times in 219 games before reaching the majors for good.
Bryce Harper only played 130 games before reaching the majors full-time, but he still struck out more times (101) than he walked (68).
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One more time, Guerrero’s numbers: 146 walks and 135 strikeouts in 276 games.
“He’s a very under-control, strong aggressive hitter,” Murphy told SN. “I think everyone wants to talk about his power, which is unbelievable. It hasn’t really translated into games as much, but we’ve got to remember he’s still only 18. You know he can hit it out of the ballpark with any swing. But at the same time, he’s a powerful, selective, aggressive hitter.”
To Murphy’s point, after “just” 21 home runs in 181 games as a 17- and 18-year-old, Guerrero popped 20 in 95 games in 2018, mostly playing in Double-A and Triple-A.
He’s the real deal, and he’ll get his opportunity to prove he belongs in the big leagues this spring. Montoyo is excited to watch the youngster prove himself.
“If he is what I think it is,” Montoyo said with a grin, “he’ll be in the top of the lineup.”
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