With all the hype surrounding baseball’s #1 prospect, it was always Vlad Jr’s bat that was the talk of the town. With 3 games under his belt with the Toronto Blue Jays, Guerrero is proving that he can also make the defensive plays necessary to be a third baseman at the major league level.
The first thing you think of when you hear Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s (Vlad Jr.) name is how powerful he is when he steps in the batter’s box. All throughout his time in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system you were always shown highlights of him hitting home runs and extra base hits, and his ridiculous slash lines at every minor league level.
With three MLB games under his belt, Junior has not hit any home runs but does have a double under his belt, as well as a 3-12 record with a few strikeouts and a walk.
We can all obviously agree that Vlad Jr. will not be hitting home runs every time he steps at the plate. He does have some strikeouts to his resume and has expanded his strike zone which we are not used to seeing. He is usually a selective hitter at the plate and the fans are used to seeing him walk more than he strikes out.
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This makes sense given that he is playing against tougher competition in the MLB, with major league pitchers having more experience, faster fastballs, and more elusive off-speed weapons.
What the fans didn’t expect was how well Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would play defensively at 3B.
Again, mind you that he has only played in three games this season, but he has made some difficult plays already in his first couple starts.
A couple of running throws on a few dribblers out of the box are showing off the power in his throwing arm, and every throw across the diamond has been right on the money at 1st base.
He even made an outstanding grab in foul ball territory when playing against the Athletics on April 28th. Shaded towards 2nd base due to the shift on with switch hitter Kendrys Morales at the plate, Vladdy hustled his way over to shallow left field and made a great snag just inside the foul line. Without his play, the ball would have probably dropped foul as LF Billy McKinney would most likely not made it in time (he too shaded towards CF).
This is something that really has been discussed by scouts and fans across the league, as many people have taken issue with Vladimir Guerrero’s weight and the risk it will have on him being a defensive liability coming into his major league debut.
When looking at social media, you can see many fans saying that he may be more of a designated hitter than a position player, or may even have to move over to 1B in the future.
This may happen in the future, but for now, Guerrero is proving that he can handle tough plays at 3B and hasn’t shown that his weight will not stand in the way when fielding or running the bases.
He put his speed on display when he hit a leadoff double against the A’s in the 9th inning in Friday’s contest (his debut) and his hustle is evident when he busts out of the batter’s box.
While the first home run of his career will have to wait another day, Toronto Blue Jays fans should take pride in knowing that Vlad Jr. is more than just a power hitter.