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BUFFALO — Even with the 10 letters, a period and a space it takes to get Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s name on the back of a Blue Jays uniform, there is plenty of room.

The shoulders on the 18-year-old phenom are broad, big enough it would seem to handle the weight of expectation on a player widely viewed as one of the top young prospects in all of baseball.

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Just how soon he becomes a Jay is one of the most anticipated developments for a franchise aching for an injection of an exceptional homegrown talent the likes of Guerrero.

One thing is clear: The Jays aren’t about to rush the Montreal-born son of Dominican great Vlad Sr. That doesn’t mean a taste of the big leagues is out of the question in 2018, however, especially if the torrid pace of his development continues.

“I hate to put a ceiling on anybody. I wouldn’t want to to govern what he can be,” Blue Jays vice-president of baseball operations Ben Cherington told Postmedia when asked about the options for Guerrero in the upcoming months. “We just need to be thoughtful about what are the skills and experiences that give him the best chance to have the longest most successful career possible and can we help him do that while he’s still in the minor leagues.

“What that means at the end of 2018, I don’t know. He’ll end up making that decision for us.”

Jays fans can’t be blamed for hoping Guerrero muscles his way into Toronto at some point this coming season, given the team’s struggles last year and the uncertainty on the current roster.

The thousands attending the team’s first annual Winter Fest at the Rogers Centre on Saturday will get a glimpse of Guerrero. And they’ll be able to enjoy an up close look at the impressive physical specimen we saw this week in Buffalo when the Jays prospects tour stopped by for a visit with fans of the triple-A Bisons.

Guerrero, 18, is well-schooled in the potential curves of the baseball pipeline and knows shortcuts are rare. With that in mind, he says he will focus on what he can control.

“I will just continue to play my game,” Guerrero said through an interpreter at the Jays event in Buffalo.

“I have said since a very early age in my life that I wanted to be a big leaguer, but I never said when or how it’s going to happen. Just keep at my game, working hard, playing the game and then we’ll see when that happens.”