The Blue Jays jumped into the international market with both feet on Thursday.

The payoff was the 16-year-old son of 16-year Major League veteran slugger Vladimir Guerrero.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was born in Montreal while his father was with the Expos and is therefore a Canadian citizen. And according to the guy who signed him, Guerrero Jr. wants to be better than his father.

Like his father, Jr. wields a powerful bat and at 6-feet and 220 pounds already his had his share of moon shots. He also happens to be Baseball America’s No. 1 ranked international prospect in this year’s international pool.

Ismael Cruz, the Blue Jays Special Assistant, Latin American Operations, has been scouting Guerrero Jr. since he was a 13-year-old. The Jays organization has had eyes on Guerrero Jr. since he was nine.

In the three years Cruz has been scouting him, he has seen him “trim down” to his current weight and watched his already impressive power develop.

“We went after him because we haven’t seen a kid at that age with the projected hitting ability and power that he has displayed for us over the years we have been following him,” Cruz said via conference call.

But unlike his father, Junior is not a five-tool player now, nor does he project to be one by the time he reaches the majors.

“His hitting talent is the thing I can compare with his dad,” Cruz said. “He doesn’t have his dad’s arm or his speed. But then again this kid just turned 16. He has a better bat now than his father had at that age. It’s not like it’s going to go away. He’s had it for a long time. He has always hit.”

According to Baseball America the Jays dug deep to get Guerrero. The price tag is a reported $3.9-million but the money is just one part of it.

To get enough slot money to sign Guerrero, the Jays sent Chase Dejong and Tim Locastro to the Dodgers earlier in the day. Even so, they likely will face signing limitations next year having overspent their allotment this year. Had they not made the trade, the signing limitations could very well have extended to a second year.

Cruz is confident Guerrero, who will begin his climb up the minor league rung playing in right field, will be worth it.

“Those guys don’t come around very often,” Cruz said. “It was either put all your marbles in on one guy or go out and get a couple of players that are fine. For us Vlady Jr. is a difference maker. He has the potential to be a very, very special kid.”