While Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was an above-average offensive producer during his first two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (106 and 116 OPS+), he did not live up to his billing as an elite prospect. In 2021, he has been off to a torrid start, leading the Jays offense in the absence of George Springer, who has been on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Guerrero is first in most offensive categories for Toronto. His slash line is .389/.507/.667 for a 1.174 OPS. While he was hitless in Sunday’s series finale against Kansas City, he was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and one home run in Game 1 of the Jays’ Saturday double header.
This improvement in production comes at a fortuitous time as the 7-9 Jays look to keep pace in the division while Springer remains unavailable. Sustaining this level of performance will be important in order for the Jays to make a second consecutive postseason appearance in a full-length regular season with the normal ten-team playoff format. The Blue Jays will next face the 10-6 Boston Red Sox for two games at Fenway Park starting on Tuesday night at 7:10 PM ET. Ryu Hyun-jin (1-1, 1.89 ERA) will face a Boston pitcher to be announced.
Featured Image: READING, PENNSYLVANIA / USA – JULY 23 2018: Toronto Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. plays as the Reading Fightin Phils host the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at FirstEnergy Stadium by Matt Smith Photographer / Shutterstock.com.
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