The image of baseball’s No. 1 prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stepping into the batters box at Rogers Centre wearing a Toronto Blue Jays uniform in 2019 is one that instills hope in a fan base gearing up for a few years of transition.

It may also strike fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers, particularly when they hear what is going through the 19-year-old’s head when he steps up to the plate.

“I feel ready,” he said through translator Tanya Bialostozky, a Jays mental performance coach, on Friday. “When I’m there, I know I have to be patient and pick the pitch that I want. I know when I step in that (box) my mindset is that I am the best guy in the world and that it’s the other guy that has to try hard so that he’s ready. I know that I am the best and I don’t let myself be intimidated by anyone.”

Many of the 20,000 thousand fans that will visit Rogers Centre this weekend for the Jays’ second annual Winter Fest —the reason Guerrero has braved frigid Toronto weather — will do so hoping to steal a glimpse of the budding star, who slashed .381/.437/.636 with a 1.073 OPS between four minor-league levels last year.

They may be ready for Guerrero, who is expected to make his major-league debut in late April, but the slugger himself won’t speculate on when he will get the call.

“My thing is just playing,” he said. “As soon as I step onto the field, that’s all that matters. That’s what I live for and that’s what I work for, what I do on the field.”

His focus today, Guerrero said, is simply on getting better in every aspect of the game. As confident as he may be stepping into the batters’ box, he also knows he is not perfect. Improving is an “ongoing process.”

For the most talked-about prospect in baseball, and a young man with the confidence to back up his ability, Guerrero carries himself with an air of humility. In the Jays clubhouse, meeting the media alongside a dozen other Jays minor-leaguers — among them Nate Pearson, Kevin Smith, Cavan Biggio, T.J. Zeuch and Forrest Wall — the Montreal-born native of the Dominican Republic was just one of the guys. He bounced around among his current and future teammates with ease, gave hugs to staff, dished about the prospects’ night out at the Leaside Curling Club on Tuesday and jokingly stared down Biggio when it was his friend’s turn in front of the camera.

Biggio, who played half the 2018 season with Guerrero in New Hampshire and linked up with him again in the Arizona Fall League, doesn’t think the hype will ever get to his head.

“Vladdy’s a very special player, his mix of power and contact,” Biggio said. “His makeup, too. He’s going to be a good fellow here in this locker room. A lot of guys are going to get along with him and he’s going to listen and he’s going to be very mature and humble about it.”

Guerrero said respecting his teammates, and earning their respect in return, is very important to him off the field. He makes sure he is the same person whether he plays well or poorly, and enjoys sharing “little moments” with teammates who have become friends. It is spending time with the players around him, going out for dinner and the like, that has helped Guerrero improve his understanding of the English language. He now answers questions from reporters without needing the words translated, and hopes to get to a point where he is responding on his own in English.

“As a baseball player I understand the importance of it and I’m trying to get better at it,” he said.

Guerrero is excited about continuing his career with the young core Toronto is rebuilding around.

“I feel this is a very talented team and I’m excited to see all the young talent coming up together,” he said. “I’m looking forward to see what we can accomplish together.”

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Just don’t ask Guerrero when that group will get their start in the big leagues.

“When I’m up here I’ll tell you how excited I am,” he said. “Right now I’m just staying focused on improving and doing the best I can.”