MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-10
1. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 52 percent
Only five weeks into his major league career, Vlad Guerrero Jr. is already demonstrating the basis for all the hype that surrounded his call-up.
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Following a depressing first two weeks, Guerrero is batting .283 with seven home runs since May 11. On June 8 in front of the home crowd, Guerrero showed the first place New York Yankees what all the hype has been about.
Following LeMahieu’s three-run home run in the sixth, the Yankees led 8-7 entering the bottom of the eighth, and they had Zack Britton on the mound. In more than two dozen appearances, Britton has been a steady force in the dominant Yankee bullpen, with an ERA under 3.00 and 8.2 strikeouts every nine innings.
Britton, who had recorded the final out in the seventh, got Freddy Galvis on an easy ground ball to begin the eighth. But Danny Jansen grounded a base hit through shortstop, and when Lourdes Gurriel walked on a 3-2 pitch Guerrero came to bat with the tying run in scoring position.
The rookie wasted little time. On a 1-1 count, he was able to lift a good Britton sinker and propel it 434 feet for a three-run home run.
The blast gave Toronto a 9-7 advantage and instantaneously improved their odds of winning from just 41 percent to 93 percent. It also set off a small tidal wave; before the inning was out, Randal Grichuk and Brandon Drury had both also homered. The Jays won 11-8.