Blue Jays star prospect remains patient for MLB

DUNEDIN, Fla. — Vlad Guerrero Jr. doesn’t seem bothered by his forthcoming controversy. But then, Vlad Guerrero Jr. doesn’t seem bothered much by anything.

The 19-year-old baseball wunderkind opened camp Monday with the big-league Blue Jays. It wasn’t hard to pick him out from his Toronto teammates as they endeavored baserunning drills, warmup throws and infield practice: He’s enormous, for one thing, looking larger than his listed 6’1″ and 200 pounds in both directions, with dyed blond lochs pouring out the back of his cap.

And Guerrero was the guy playing Pied Piper to a cadre of photographers and reporters — this one included — that followed his every step at the Blue Jays’ training fields in Dunedin, from the morning calisthenics to another one of the sizzling batting-practice displays that are his trademark.

“I’m not the kind of person that craves attention,” Guerrero said after practice, through a team translator. “I’m focused on coming here, working hard, being the best I can, and then going home and keeping a low profile.”

At one point, just before Guerrero began launching line drives off and over the outfield fence, veteran outfielder Randal Grichuk jokingly bailed out of following Guerrero in the batting-practice session, saying aloud, “I don’t want to go after him.” But while Guerrero’s lightning-quick hands and easy power — combined, of course, with his otherworldly 2018 minor-league statline (he batted .381 with a 1.073 OPS) — earn him the attention of the baseball world, his teammates and coaches seemed equally impressed by his approach to the game.

“I can’t relate to being 19 years old and being that even-keeled and cool, like that kid is,” manager Charlie Montoyo said. “That’s the mark of a star. He’s going to be a star someday, as we all know. It’s amazing that he could be that comfortable.”

“He’s a really nice kid,” said veteran shortstop Freddy Galvis, whose spring-training locker sits next to Guerrero’s. “He has a good mentality. I think he’ll be good — really good. I see a lot of young players with really great talent, but a different mentality…. His father was a hard worker, everyone knows. He has that same kind of mentality.”

The son of a Hall of Famer known for a dazzling throwing arm and preternatural hitting ability, the younger Vlad Guerrero first landed in the spotlight when he was just 15 and clubbing homers in a YouTube video. He signed with the Blue Jays at age 16 for a $3.9 million bonus. By the time he turned 18, he was already one of the most highly regarded young talents in baseball, showing off great contact skills, gap power, and advanced plate discipline in the low minors.

After capping a strong 2018 spring showing by hitting a walk-off home run in an exhibition game in Montreal, where his father starred for the now-departed Expos, Guerrero started the 2018 campaign in Class AA ball and batted over .400 — an unheard-of feat in today’s game, even in the minors — before forcing a promotion to Class AAA Buffalo in late July. He torched opposing pitching in 31 games at the highest minor-league level, then kept it up in 19 games in the Arizona Fall League.

In the midst of a disappointing season, fans of the big-league Blue Jays clamored for Guerrero’s promotion. But calling up Guerrero would mean starting his service-time clock, which grants free agency to players once they surpass six full seasons in the Majors. Even now, Blue Jays brass will not commit to giving the game’s consensus top prospect an Opening Day roster spot, as keeping him in Class AAA ball for the first half of April will buy Toronto a full extra year of his services down the road.

That type of roster manipulation has proved controversial — and largely unpopular outside MLB front offices — in recent seasons, like when the Cubs pretended Kris Bryant wasn’t ready for prime time at the outset of the 2015 campaign, or when the Braves did the same to Ronald Acuña Jr. last year. The MLBPA filed a grievance on Bryant’s behalf that went nowhere, and the union now faces more pressing issues as clubs cry poor to leave star free-agents lingering on the open market.

But if Guerrero is angry about the presumed charade or concerned about the associated labor ramifications, he did not say as much on Monday. Asked what he thought he needed to do to prove to the Blue Jays that he’s ready for the Majors, the teenager demonstrated the precocious professionalism that earned him his manager’s praise.

“That’s their decision,” he said. “My only job is to come here, work hard, and be ready…. Nobody is born perfect. I’m working hard every day to become a better player.”

“It’s not that easy to be like that — all that attention, being that young, you guys asking questions and him giving the right answers,” Montoyo said. “That’s impressive…. He’s going to have fun, and whatever happens, happens.”

Baseball fans across North America eagerly await the chance to see Guerrero show off his bat at the game’s highest level. For better and mostly for worse, it won’t likely happen until after a couple of weeks of the regular season and a couple thousand angry takes on the topic. Until then, the player himself is keeping a cool head.

“As long as spring training continues, I’m ready and I want to work hard,” Guerrero said. “I know that I need to focus on controlling what I can control: working hard every day, trying to get better every day, and giving the best of me.”