Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a booming bat and a hall-of-fame pedigree, but that’s only part of the reason why the newest Blue Jay is the most-hyped prospect in franchise history

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has a booming bat and a hall-of-fame pedigree, but that’s only part of the reason why the newest Blue Jay is the most-hyped prospect in franchise history

It was there, just before spring training in 2015, that Vlad Jr. stepped up to the plate to show off his bat against right-hander Yadier Alvares, an international prospect himself with a 100-mile-an-hour fastball.

There was a position change from the outfield to third base, Vlad Jr.’s preferred spot. There was a call to former Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, a well-connected man in the Dominican, to secure an empty winter ball stadium, as league rules dictated Toronto couldn’t work out prospects at its own facility.

“We knew the date of birth was accurate because he was born in Quebec. His mother, when we were at her house, she was very proud, she brought out his Quebec birth certificate,” Anthopoulos said, referring to the issues baseball has faced with the misrepresentation of age and identity among international players.

There were conversations with Vlad Sr. and a three-hour car ride with Junior to visit his mother, Riquelma Ramos. Ramos gave birth to her son in Montreal while her then-partner was embarking on his fourth of eight seasons with the Expos. She was more than happy to communicate in French with Anthopoulos, a Montrealer himself, during the visit.

Anthopoulos and Cruz kept tabs on Vlad Jr. from that day forward. Anthopoulos returned to the island in the summer of 2014, then again on New Year’s Day in 2015. He talked to Beeston about spending the organization’s entire international pool on one player, a first for the club, and effectively taking itself out of the running the following year, too.

The tale of how the Blue Jays landed the sought-after talent, a team effort spearheaded by Anthopoulos, Cruz and former president and CEO Paul Beeston, has been told again and again like any proud origin story.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3, hits the field with his father, Vladimir Guerrero, in Montreal in 2002, when Vlad Sr. played for the Expos. Paul Chiasson and Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

“We didn’t know the names, they were just these kids hitting and Vlad comes up and he’s just hitting balls, loose, quick, easy swing, balls jumping off his bat,” Anthopoulos said.

Vlad Jr. was 14 years old the first time the former Blue Jays general manager laid eyes on him. Anthopoulos was in the Dominican to evaluate players for the 2014 draft when Ismael Cruz, Toronto’s former director of Latin American operations, gave him a sneak peek at the 2015 class.

Major League Baseball’s newest star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., set to make his debut on Friday against the Oakland Athletics, always did know how to steal the show.

Because even in a place known for producing talent, he stood out. Even at an age too young to sign, he made noise.

But he laughs at that particular memory of the young, anonymous slugger, as if still in disbelief.

“You’re routinely wowed and amazed by the talents and abilities of younger players,” Kim mused in a quiet moment at Toronto’s minor league complex during spring training in late February, after the whirlwind of activity had cleared out for the day. “The Dominican is a fascinating place to watch, to see how talented baseball players develop.”

Kim has mined the area for more than a decade between his work with the Rangers and as the Toronto Blue Jays’ current director of player development. There is an awe he experiences from time to time when he scouts baseball players in the Dominican, an island with a population of just over 10 million people that is surrounded by several other Latin American countries also rich with talent.

“There was this little guy out there in right field, and then in the infield, and then was hitting bombs,” Kim recalled.

The grass was just going in on a new field at Wilton Guerrero’s baseball academy in Nizao, about 60 kilometres southwest of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, when a 12- or 13-year-old roster filler drew Gil Kim’s eyes away from the older players he was there to assess as a member of the Texas Rangers’ international scouting corps.

“For a right on right changeup that he hit out to centre field I was like, ‘Holy cow, you never see that,’” Schneider said. “Most guys swing through that or foul it off.”

The other hit that stands out to Schneider came on a 3-0 pitch last year in Double-A. Vlad Jr. and the Fisher Cats were facing the Reading Fightin Phils. The third baseman had just come back from a knee injury that sidelined him for about a month. Schneider, anticipating a fastball, gave him the green light to swing.

“I said, ‘How did you hit that slider when he was throwing 97?’” said Schneider, now a major-league coach with the Blue Jays. “He said, ‘I was just sitting there waiting for it.’ It was him seeing that pitcher before earlier in the year, assuming what he would get, getting the pitch and then not missing.”

Vlad Jr., then with the Dunedin Blue Jays, hit a game-winning home run off Seth McGarry that secured his team a playoff spot in 2017. Dunedin Blue Jays

He drilled the third pitch way into the left-field seats at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Fla., a game-winning two-run home run that sent Dunedin into the playoffs.

Vlad Jr. took the first pitch for a strike, right down the middle.

One was in a 2017 Florida State League game. Dunedin was tied with the Clearwater Threshers in the top of the ninth inning, with a playoff spot on the line. Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays’ second best prospect at the moment, was on third and Vlad Jr. was at the plate, facing Seth McGarry, a righty known for his 97-mile-an-hour fastballs.

Two at-bats come to mind when John Schneider thinks of Vlad Jr., his disciple when he managed the Class-A Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays in 2017 and the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2018.

See how Vlad Jr.’s other key minor-league stats measure up using the buttons below: Home runs RBIs Stolen bases

The Steamer Projections, the primary projection system for individual players used by FanGraphs, forecasted Vlad Jr.’s OPS would dip slightly in his first season in the major leagues to .879, which would still put him among the leaders on the Blue Jays’ roster.

Vlad Jr.’s OPS improved in each of his three full minor-league seasons. He posted an .808 OPS in 2016 in rookie ball; a .910 OPS between Class-A and Class-A Advanced in 2017; a 1.073 OPS across three minor-league levels in 2018; All together, he put up a .945 OPS over 288 games in the minors.

An OPS over .900 is generally considered great, between .833 and .900 is very good, between .766 and .833 is above average and between .700 and .766 is average. Major-league batters averaged a .728 OPS last season.

On-base plus slugging (OPS) is widely considered one of the best tools to evaluate hitters as it combines how well a hitter can reach base with how well he can hit for average and power.

If Vlad Jr. wants to be the best, he will have to beat the best. The best in baseball right now is Los Angeles Angels centre-fielder Mike Trout, a two-time American League most valuable player, seven-time all-star and AL rookie of the year in 2012.

The veteran Detroit Tigers first baseman, currently listed at 6 ft. 4 and 249 lbs., is the active player Vlad Jr. is most often compared to, an elite hitter with a similar body type who can be a defensive liability.

Vlad Jr. has a less athletic frame than his Hall of Famer father, but debuts with a simpler swing and big-league pedigree. He aspires to a career that rivals his father’s. Is this a case of like father, like son?

While predicting how Vlad Jr. will fare over the course of his major-league career is an inexact science, here’s how his minor-league stats stack up against some of baseball’s big stars:

On Friday, the Guerrero family will finally see that dream realized. They know what makes him so good; now the world will get to see it, too.

The change in fortune doesn’t make the anticipation of Vlad Jr.’s promotion any less exciting for the family, though.

“His father had to work to make some food,” Wilton said. “Vladdy has everything. It’s a lot different. He had a better life than his father.”

The two had very different paths to the big leagues. Senior grew up in poverty; Junior lived a lavish lifestyle with everything he wanted at his fingertips, except maybe that long-awaited ticket to the big leagues.

And Wilton is adamant he will perform like his father — though Vlad Jr. is shorter and stockier than his long, lean dad.

“There’s no guarantee for Guerrero — skewness of risk essentially means there are a lot more things that could make him fall short than exceed his projections — but if he’s not even a good player, it would be one of the largest busts in the history of baseball,” wrote Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs, who developed the player projection system.

Wilton compares his nephew’s game to the likes of Detroit Tigers veteran first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Vlad Jr.’s ZiPS projections, regarded by many as one of the most accurate predictors of future performance in baseball, say Vlad Jr. will put up a .288/.352/.483 slashline with 19 home runs and 70 RBIs in 114 games in his first season in the big leagues. Those numbers best the ZiPS projections for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout, currently considered the best player in the game, ahead of his 2012 rookie season: .267/.338/.414 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs in 156 games. Trout’s actual slashline that year was .326/.399/.564 with 30 homers and 83 RBIs in 139 games, earning him American League rookie of the year honours and an all-star nod, while placing him second in AL most valuable player voting behind Cabrera.

It was Vlad Jr. who pushed to be a baseball player, who believes he was born to play; it was Wilton who fostered that talent and desire as a surrogate father and handler.

And if anyone would know what Vlad Jr. is capable of, it is his uncle. It was Wilton who started working with his nephew in the batting cages when he was about five or six years old. Vlad Jr. visited his dad during school breaks, but he split the rest of the time between his mother and his dad’s relatives.

To Wilton, the math was simple. He made his major-league debut at the age of 21. So did his brother, Vlad Sr. Vlad Jr. has more talent than either of them, so his jump to the big leagues should come sooner.

Guerrero reports to his first major-league spring training. Three weeks later, the Jays announce the 20-year-old Guerrero suffered a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique muscle during a spring training game. The injury keeps him out of action for nearly a month and all but ends the service time debate that swirled around him heading into the season.

Guerrero is named Baseball America’s minor league player of the year, joining Derek Bell (1991) as the only Blue Jays prospects to receive the honour. Guerrero is also named to MLB Pipeline’s prospect team of the year the same day.

MLB Pipeline names Guerrero its 2018 hitter of the year after he posted a minor-league leading .381 in 95 games across four levels in 2018. He also led the minors in slugging percentage (.636) and OPS (1.073).

The Star breaks the news that Guerrero will be promoted to Triple-A on July 31, allowing him to attend his father’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown.

Guerrero, now 19, starts his third year in professional baseball ranked as the No. 3 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. He is promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. In June, Guerrero is named to the Eastern League’s Eastern Division all-star roster and days later is named MLB Pipeline’s top prospect.

Dunedin is crowned co-champion of the Florida State League, the first championship in the affiliate’s 33-year history. Guerrero goes 5-for-13 with one home run and one RBI in three playoff games for Dunedin before the final series with the Palm Beach Cardinals is called off because of the threat of Hurricane Irma.

Guerrero is named ESPN’s 2017 MLB Prospect of the Year. “I could make arguments for other players, but no one blew the doors off the hinges the way the 18-year-old son of possible Hall of Famer Vlad Sr. did,” ESPN senior baseball writer Keith Law writes about the decision.

Guerrero is selected to represent the World Team at the 2017 MLB Futures Game during all-star weekend in Miami. At 18 years old, he is the youngest player to play in the game, starting at designated hitter.

Guerrero is named to the Midwest League’s East Division all-star team after hitting .332/.422/.484 with four homers and 31 RBIs while posting more walks (27) than strikeouts (24). He is the highest-rated prospect in the showcase at No. 28 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100.

Guerrero is named the No. 1 prospect in Toronto’s system by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America and promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts to start the 2017 season.

Guerrero is named to the 2016 Appalachian League all-star team at third base after hitting .271/.359/.499 with an .808 OPS, eight home runs and 46 RBIs in 62 games.

A 16-year-old Guerrero signs with the Blue Jays as an international free agent. The $3.9-million US signing bonus is one of the largest in franchise history. Less than a year later, Guerrero makes his professional debut with Toronto’s rookie ball team, the Virginia-based Bluefield Blue Jays.

“(Wilton) said, ‘You mark my words, he’ll be playing with him,’” Anthopoulos recalled. “Obviously it didn’t work out that way but he was pretty confident that he was going to emerge and move fast.”

Wilton, a former major-leaguer, told Anthopoulos as much before Toronto signed his nephew. He asked Anthopoulos at the time which Dominican player in baseball was under contract the longest. The answer was former Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes, a member of the Colorado Rockies who was signed through 2017 with an option for 2018.

Alex Anthopoulos may not have predicted Vlad Jr.’s rise to becoming the most touted prospect in the game, landing at No. 1 on both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline’s list of 100 top prospects heading into the 2019 season, but Wilton Guerrero did.

“We liked him a lot but I don’t think we sat there and said, ‘This guy is going to be ranked the No. 1 prospect in the game four years later.’”

Still, for all the hoops the Blue Jays jumped through to land their man, Anthopoulos wouldn’t have predicted his trajectory.

On July 2, 2015, much to the ire of other suitors like the Chicago White Sox and Rangers, Vlad Jr. officially became a Blue Jays prospect, his $3.9-million USD bonus dwarfing the $2,100 his father earned from the Expos as an international signing in 1993.

Vlad Jr. was just 16 the day he officially became a Blue Jays prospect. His uncle, Wilton Guerrero, second from left, and father Vladimir Guerrero, far right, were among those cheering him on that day in 2015. @vladdyjr27/Instagram

“In talking to him and getting to know him, he clearly loved the game,” Anthopoulos said. “Loved baseball, was doing it for the right reasons … We knew that the money wasn’t going to impact him or faze him because he grew up with money, so he wasn’t doing this to make money or he wasn’t going to get a big bonus or not work as hard or so on.”

More than anything, though, Anthopoulos spent time trying to understand the young man.

And there was the nod of approval from Encarnacion to Anthopoulos, confirming what he already knew — that Vlad Jr. was, in fact, the real deal.

The call made Schneider look like a genius, but he knows he would have been foolish not to give Vlad Jr. the go-ahead. “He’s one of those guys that was born to hit.” Lightning quick hands, impressive raw talent, a very accurate barrel and a simple, consistent swing separate Vlad Jr. from the pack. They are things that can be measured through technology, but a lot of it is subjective as well. With Vlad Jr. there is the eye test, but also the ear test: you can hear his “phenomenal” barrel-to-ball skills, the quality of contact he makes combining with his sheer physical strength. It’s something Blue Jays teammate Devon Travis noticed this past spring. Listen to the sound of Vlad Jr.'s bat making contact with the ball during spring training earlier this year. Laura Armstrong/Toronto Star “When he’s hitting, you don’t even have to look,” Travis said. “You know it’s coming off someone’s bat that’s a little different.” But it’s his advanced baseball intelligence that teammates and coaches generally mention when asked to pinpoint what makes the 20-year-old an elite hitter, the first prospect ever to get an 80-grade hit tool from MLB Pipeline. “It’s his ability to make adjustments pitch by pitch ... it’s the way that he approaches each pitcher and each at-bat and each pitch within that at-bat that makes him special offensively,” Schneider said. “A lot of hitters want a lot of information on pitchers. Vladdy wants that but he keeps it very simple and he knows what pitch he’s trying to hit off each guy and what location he’s kind of zoning in on for each at-bat. That’s what separates him.” Of all the advanced stats in baseball today, it’s Vlad Jr.’s simple yet telling walk-to-strikeout ratio that stands out the most. In little more than three minor-league seasons, he has 150 walks to 139 strikeouts, evidence of his ability to control the strike zone. That kind of patience at the plate and ability to recognize pitches in the strike zone is rare. Only four major-league players put up more walks than strikeouts over the 2018 season: Cleveland Indians infielder Jose Ramirez, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana, Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and Canadian first baseman Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. Trout was fifth on that list, with two fewer walks than strikeouts.

Eye on the Ball Vlad Jr.’s walk-to-strikeout ratio, an indication of his keen eye for the strike zone, sets him apart from top prospects and some recognizable big leaguers. Tap onHover over each player for more information. Vlad Jr. was one of only two position players on Baseball America and MLB Pipeline's top 10 prospect lists to post more walks than strikeouts in their minor-league career by the end of 2018. Vlad Jr.’s 1.08 walk-to-strikeout ratio dwarfs the ratios produced by the other top prospects from those two lists except for Wander Franco, whose 1.42 ratio came with a much smaller sample size. Vlad Sr. and Trout’s .826 and .739 ratios in the minor leagues would have stood out against this group of prospects, too, while Cabrera's .500 ratio would have been among the pack. Vlad Sr. and Cabrera both improved their ratios during their major-league careers as their understanding of the strike zone got better.

Just as valuable is the passion he has to compete in the box. That drive was evident in January when Vlad Jr. visited the Rogers Centre to participate in the Blue Jays’ annual development camp. He tends to stick with the same talking points when he speaks to the media, keeping answers light and vague. But asked about his mentality in the batter’s box and his demeanour suddenly became more intense, his answer more specific. “I feel ready,” he said through translator Tanya Bialostozky, a Blue Jays mental performance coach. “When I’m there, I know I have to be patient and pick the pitch 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.” When Vlad Jr. is in the box, he’s there to do damage. Blue Jays pitcher Trent Thornton knows that all too well. Thornton had heard the name and seen Vlad Jr.’s numbers by the time he faced the slugger in the Arizona Fall League last year. The first two plate appearances went well enough for the former Astros right-handed prospect; Thornton broke Vlad Jr.’s bat on a groundout in one game, and then the hitter flew out for a sacrifice fly to left field in another. But in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game, Thornton got a taste of what the slugger can do when he smoked an 82-miles-per-hour breaking ball off the left-field fence for a double. The exit velocity on the hit was recorded at 117 miles per hour, a number only 15 big-leaguers had matched or bettered in the previous three MLB seasons. The exit velocity of Vlad Jr.’s hit at this 2018 Arizona Fall League game was clocked at 117 miles per hour. Major League Baseball “I hung a slider and he hit the absolute crap out of it,” Thornton said. “It was a line drive that almost went through the fence. You can’t make mistakes against a guy like that who can do damage at any moment in the game on any pitch.” For all of Vlad Jr.’s successes at the plate, he doesn’t enter the major leagues as a complete player. There are concerns about his defensive abilities at third base, and his weight. The improvements that can be made in those areas helped the Blue Jays front-office explain away Vlad Jr.’s absence from Toronto’s opening day roster in March. General manager Ross Atkins repeatedly spoke about how the team wanted to tap into all of his potential — the physical aspect and his fitness, which will play into the type of offensive player he will become, the base running, the defence — and how his routines needed to be at a major-league level to sustain a long-term career in the game. Of course, there was never a mention of the 172 days that constitute a year of service time, per Major League Baseball rules, or managing the asset to assert an extra year of club control. Nor was there going to be, lest the club want to give added fodder to a possible union grievance over manipulation of service time, like the one third baseman Kris Bryant filed against the Chicago Cubs in 2015 when he was brought up the day after the club gained an extra year of contractual control.

You can’t make mistakes against a guy like that who can do damage at any moment in the game on any pitch. Pitcher Trent Thornton

That topic of conversation effectively died on March 10 anyway, when the Blue Jays announced Vlad Jr. had suffered a Grade 1 left oblique strain that would keep him sidelined for three weeks. By mid-April, days after he returned to the Triple-A level, Vlad Jr. was officially locked up through the 2025 season. The setback played into Toronto’s narrative. Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro hinted the injury served as a reminder to Vlad Jr. to focus on his conditioning. Two injuries nine months apart were less than ideal but also relatively minor, and encouraged the third baseman to “drastically” improve his routines. “He has grown from each one of them,” Atkins said. “He has a better understanding of his body. A better understanding of what preparation and recovery mean for him, because ultimately it really is up to him. We will do everything we can to support him, but the better he gets at setting expectations for himself and routines for himself, the better he’ll be … The elite players have exceptional routines and exceptional consistency to how their day transpires and what recovery looks like for them.” Vlad Jr. is officially listed at six-foot-two and 250 pounds, up from 225 pounds in 2018. He told ESPN in March he has weighed 250 pounds on average for the past two years, and was trying to make better food choices to prepare for the major leagues. “I am not killing myself to lose weight but it is my job to be in the best shape possible for when the season starts,” he said. The eye test suggests even 250 pounds might be a conservative estimate, though he has purportedly dropped 10 pounds since spring training began.

Vlad Jr., pictured earlier this year during spring training, is officially listed at six-foot-two and 250 pounds, up from 225 pounds in 2018. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press and Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press

Anthopoulos considered Vlad Jr.’s stature before he was signed back in 2015, though it was hard to project how the teenager would grow at the time. The previous Blue Jays regime thought his size would impact his ability in the outfield, but he was a good athlete with good agility, life to his body, quickness, good hands and really good arm strength. It was enough to play in the infield and, with that bat, less of a gamble. “There’s no doubt he was a big body,” Anthopoulos said. “Different body type than his father. One thing we thought was similar was they both had a high waist ... you just don’t ultimately know how that is going to progress over time.” Weight has been a focus for Vlad Jr. at least since his time with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts in 2017. “What I can say in terms of his body was one of his goals was to maintain his weight and he did a really good job working together with a (nutritionist),” said Lansing manager Cesar Martin. But it is on defence where Vlad Jr. has focused the bulk of his work since signing with the Blue Jays. Third base is still a relatively new position for him after spending much of his youth playing in the outfield under Wilton. He takes pride in being more than a hitter. “Hitting was fine and he knows it, that was a good thing about him, but another good thing about him is he wants to be great,” Martin said. “He’s good but working on defence and the way that he separates defence from hitting, that was really good for a young guy.”

I said, ‘Man, that guy, he’s different. He’s different, in a good way’ Danny Solano, Blue Jays infield coordinator

As is the case for many, it was Vlad Jr.’s bat that first caught the eye of Blue Jays infield coordinator Danny Solano, a fellow native of the Dominican who got wind of the young slugger’s budding reputation on the island when he was just 14 years old. “I said, ‘Man, that guy, he’s different. He’s different, in a good way,’” Solano said. But it’s fielding that’s been the focal point for the pair since Vlad Jr. signed with Toronto. The inherent baseball intelligence he shows at the plate extends to defence, too. He has natural instincts at third, which are helped by an overall athleticism and some speed, even if he’s not a guy you would necessarily call fast. Drop step, first step, overall footwork: all areas in which Vlad Jr. has improved in nearly four years in Toronto’s system. “He’s got a really good arm and he knows the game so he knows what’s going on around him,” Solano said. “He knows who’s running to home plate, he knows the hitter ... he pays attention to the game.” Vlad Jr. has lived up to the defensive hurdles Toronto has set out for him. “When we’ve challenged Vladdy in the past with his defensive footwork and challenged him with drills that are intended to push him a little bit, he usually rises to the occasion, competes in those drills and in that work and improves,” said Kim, the Blue Jays’ director of player development. “That speaks to his competitiveness, it also speaks to how much love he has for the game and that does separate him from a lot of other people.” The work won’t stop in the big leagues, and the Blue Jays know it. Like anyone learning something new, there will be successes and failures, ups and downs. “He’s going to make mistakes (in the major leagues) as we’ve seen from some of our young players that are transitioning ... But the foundation is what we’re pushing so hard for him to have,” Atkins said. “A lot of that is tapping into all the power he has, making sure that we’ve done everything from a performance standpoint to help his body be in the best possible position to execute all the plays that he can make — and has shown us he can make. “Only we want to see him do it in a more consistent way. And that’s been the challenge. So there isn’t going to be a day where we say he’s done from a development standpoint because his development will continue here.”

Jays class of 2021 While Vlad Jr. is at the core of Toronto’s hopes for future success, there are other players the Blue Jays will need to promote in order to contend. Here’s the projected 2021 lineup. Tap onHover over each player for more information. Danny Jansen Catcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 25 Jansen will still be pre-arbitration but three years in the major leagues will make him a more veteran player in the lineup. His game-calling should improve after a few big-league seasons and the Blue Jays will benefit from his longstanding relationships with many of their young pitchers, dating back to the minors. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. First baseman Age on Opening Day 2021: 22 Guerrero will start his MLB career at third base but between his size and the depth at the position in the Blue Jays system, he could move across the infield sooner than later. He will likely hit in the third spot in the lineup, earmarked for the team’s best all-around hitter. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Left fielder Age on Opening Day 2021: 27 Questions about Gurriel’s defence have plagued the infielder's season so far and could prompt a long-term move to the outfield or as a super-utility player. Toronto will want his bat in the lineup, though, and left field could be the safest place to play him without costing the club too many errors in the field. Kevin Smith Third baseman Age on Opening Day 2021: 24 Smith gets rave reviews throughout the organization and is a name to keep an eye on in the coming years. The third baseman, who can take reps at shortstop, may only have just cracked Double-A this season, but he's projected to reach the major leagues by 2020. Bo Bichette Shortstop Age on Opening Day 2021: 23 Jumping to the big leagues will be difficult for Bichette in 2019; the Jays won’t want him on the same timeline as Guerrero. But Bichette’s .417 average with a 1.308 OPS in spring training suggests he could be big-league ready at the plate. He should be settled in the majors by 2021. Cavan Biggio Second baseman Age on Opening Day 2021: 23 Versatility is key to Biggio’s game. He can play at first, second, third or in the outfield, where he got reps in the Arizona Fall League last year. There is little congestion at second base in the Blue Jays’ system, which could work in his favour. The question will be whether Biggio can hit in the major leagues, where he could land as early as this season. Anthony Alford Centre fielder Age on Opening Day 2021: 26 The 2019 season will be a telling year for Alford, who has long been considered Toronto’s up-and-coming centre-fielder. Alford made adjustments to his hitting mechanics in the spring. It hasn’t shown yet in his numbers but the Blue Jays hope to see that change as their system isn’t exactly deep with outfield prospects. Randal Grichuk Right fielder Age on Opening Day 2021: 29 Grichuk signed a five-year, $52-million extension earlier this season that all but guarantees he will be one of the veterans in the Blue Jays lineup two years from now. Grichuk showed solid power in his first season with the club and his seven years of major-league experience will be valuable to the young team. Teoscar Hernandez Designated hitter Age on Opening Day 2021: 28 Hernandez strength is at the plate, not in the field. He spent the off-season working to improve his defence but could be bumped from the outfield as players like Biggio and Alford earn promotions. On the occasions that Hernandez does play in the outfield, someone like Guerrero could DH. Ryan Borucki Pitcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 26 The rotation is one of the most difficult parts of this team to predict and could include a couple of additions via trade or free agency by 2021. If not, Borucki will be the veteran of the staff and the only left-hander. He’s not an overpowering arm but can eat up innings, a valuable asset for a young rotation. Sean Reid-Foley Pitcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 24 Reid-Foley has struggled to get his emotions in check at times as a major-league starter, but he will learn to harness that excitement by 2021. He is not a guy who boasts pinpoint command, which could force a move to the bullpen, but for now Toronto's No. 9 prospect still projects as a future mid-rotation starter. T.J. Zeuch Pitcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 25 It’s easy to forget about Zeuch, who has yet to pitch in a game this year because of a lat strain. He was projected to crack the major leagues in 2019, but the injury will likely set that timeline back. Still, 2021 is a realistic time frame for the 6-foot-7, 225-pound right-hander. Nate Pearson Pitcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 24 Pearson’s development took a hit in 2018; he missed most of the season because of a forearm fracture. Toronto’s No.4 prospect, whose velocity can top 100 miles per hour, could be ready by 2020 but 2021 is a more likely timeframe for him to become a regular starter. Trent Thornton Pitcher Age on Opening Day 2021: 27 The Blue Jays’ front-office has been high on Thornton and his touted spin rate since the club acquired him from the Houston Astros in the fall. He has worked his way into the rotation this season because of injuries and could stake a claim on a full-time spot by 2021.

Back in 2015, Vlad Sr. shared high hopes for his son in an article by Bleacher Report. “I want him to beat me by one in everything,” he said at the time. “One more all-star game, one more home run, one more hit, one more Silver Slugger.” High expectations, for sure. But even his dad’s aspirations fall short of where Vlad Jr. sees himself headed: years of playing in the major leagues, leading up to his name in Cooperstown. “Vlad expects to be great and he expects to be in the Hall of Fame ... he does have high standards,” Kim said. He is not scared of anything, let alone outside expectations.

I want him to beat me by one in everything. One more all-star game, one more home run, one more hit, one more Silver Slugger. Vladimir Guerrero