Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Ramos (born March 16, 1999) is a Dominican-Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 and bats and throws right-handed. Guerrero is the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Guerrero was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an international free agent in 2015. In 2018, he was named Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and USA Today after batting .381 with 20 home runs, 78 runs batted in (RBI), and 38 strikeouts in 95 games. In 2021, he led the MLB in home runs (48, tied), runs scored (123), and total bases (363), while earning his first All-Star Game selection and winning the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, becoming the youngest player to do so. He also finished second in American League (AL) MVP voting that season. Since 2021, Guerrero has appeared in five All-Star Games, been selected three times to the All-MLB First Team, and won two Silver Slugger Awards and one Gold Glove Award as a first baseman.

Early life

Guerrero is the son of Vladimir Guerrero Sr. and the nephew of former MLB player Wilton Guerrero. He was born in Montreal, during his father's tenure with the Montreal Expos, which granted him Canadian citizenship. After his parents separated when he was very young, he moved with his mother, Riquelma Ramos, to Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Throughout his childhood, Guerrero split his time living with his mother in Santiago, with his uncle Wilton in Don Gregorio, and spent summers with his father in the United States.

In 2003, during his final game for the Expos at Olympic Stadium, Guerrero's father received a standing ovation. Four-year-old Guerrero, dressed in an Expos uniform, joined his father on the field. His father instructed him to remove his helmet and wave to the crowd, creating a moment that has been widely recognized as an iconic photograph.

Guerrero was introduced to baseball by his uncle Wilton, who played a crucial role in his development in the sport. Guerrero has credited Wilton for teaching him the fundamentals of baseball and guiding his practice from a young age, stating, "I think everything I've learned in baseball has been from him. I've been practicing with him since I was five. He's the one who taught me to practice well and guided me to where I am."

Professional career

Minor leagues

In 2015, Baseball America ranked Guerrero as the top international free agent, and MLB.com ranked him the fourth-best. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on July 2, 2015, for $3.9 million at age 16. He was assigned to extended spring training camp to open the 2016 minor league season. He made his professional baseball debut with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays on June 23. Guerrero hit his first professional home run on June 24, a two-run shot in a 4–2 loss to the Bristol Pirates. On August 12, he recorded his first multi-home run game, hitting two solo shots in an 18–5 win against the Pulaski Yankees. Later in August, he was named the Appalachian League's postseason All-Star at third base. Guerrero played in 62 games in 2016, and hit .271 with eight home runs, 46 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases. On January 24, 2017, MLB named Guerrero the third best prospect at third base.

Guerrero opened the 2017 minor league season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts. On April 7, against the Great Lakes Loons, he hit his first home run of the season. He was named a Midwest League All-Star on June 7, and on June 29, he was named to the World team roster for the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. On July 6, the Blue Jays announced Guerrero would be promoted to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays following the Futures Game. Against the Clearwater Threshers on August 31, Guerrero hit a home run to give the Blue Jays a 5–3 win, clinching Dunedin's Florida State League playoff spot. Guerrero finished the 2017 season with a .323 batting average, 13 home runs, and 76 RBIs in 119 games. He also walked more than he struck out, with 76 and 62, respectively, and posted a .910 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). On September 6, Guerrero was named ESPN's Prospect of the Year. During the offseason, he played in 26 games for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League.

Entering 2018, Guerrero was considered the top prospect in the Blue Jays organization by MLB.com and Baseball America. On March 23, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro announced that Guerrero would begin the season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Through the first month of the season, he led the Eastern League with a .398 batting average and 30 RBIs. On June 4, he was named the Eastern League's Player of the Month after hitting .438 with nine home runs and 28 RBIs in May. On June 6, Guerrero was removed from a game against the Akron RubberDucks with a leg injury. Three days later, it was determined that he had sustained a patellar tendon strain in his left knee and would be placed on the disabled list for at least four weeks. On July 28, it was announced that Guerrero would be promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons following his father's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Guerrero hit .402 with 14 home runs and 60 RBIs in 61 games with New Hampshire. On August 30, the Blue Jays added Guerrero to the roster of the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League (AFL).

Entering 2019 spring training, questions arose as to whether the Blue Jays organization would have Guerrero on the Opening Day roster or seek to manipulate his MLB service time by assigning him to the minors to begin the season. Keeping Guerrero in the minor leagues for the first two weeks of the season would prevent him from reaching free agency until after the 2025 season. On March 10, the Blue Jays announced that Guerrero had suffered an oblique strain two days earlier and was ruled out for the rest of spring training.

Toronto Blue Jays

2019: MLB Debut

On April 24, 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays announced that Guerrero would be called up from Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on April 26. Guerrero was considered the top prospect in all of professional baseball prior to being called up and was hitting .367/.424/.700 with three home runs and eight RBIs during an eight-game stint with the Bisons. He went hitless in his first three at-bats against the Oakland Athletics before hitting a double in the bottom of the ninth inning and exiting for a pinch runner. Guerrero recorded his first multi-hit game and reached base safely four times on May 11.

On May 14, against the San Francisco Giants in Oracle Park, Guerrero hit his first MLB home run in the first inning off Nick Vincent. At 20 years and 59 days of age, Guerrero became the youngest Blue Jay to hit a home run, breaking Danny Ainge's record by 18 days. In the sixth inning, with two men on, he hit another home run off Reyes Moronta. He hit two more home runs in the following series against the Chicago White Sox, including one that bounced off the glove of center fielder Leury Garcia and over the wall. Guerrero's four home runs over a six-game road trip earned him the American League Player of the Week Award, making him the youngest Blue Jay to win the award. On May 22, he hit his first home run at the Rogers Centre off Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox. On May 31, Guerrero hit his sixth home run against the Colorado Rockies, marking the 1,135th home run hit in May across the MLB and setting a new MLB record for the most home runs hit in a single calendar month, surpassing the previous record of 1,119 set in August 2017. On July 8, he broke the single round home run record in the Home Run Derby with a total of 40 home runs after three overtimes in the semifinals against Joc Pederson. He also broke the record for most home runs in a derby with 91, although he lost in the final round to Pete Alonso. In 2019, Guerrero batted .272/.339/.433 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs in 514 plate appearances. He hit a ball with the fastest exit velocity of any ball hit by MLB batters in 2019, recorded at 118.9 mph.

2020

The start of the 2020 MLB season was delayed until late July by the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 10, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo announced that Guerrero would shift primarily to playing first base, but would still play at third base and designated hitter when necessary. Guerrero played in all 60 games of the shortened 2020 season and batted .262 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs.

In his postseason debut, Guerrero batted 1-for-7 with one hit-by-pitch (HBP) as the Blue Jays lost both games of the AL Wild Card Series to the Tampa Bay Rays.

2021: First All-Star Appearance and Hank Aaron Award

Guerrero began the 2021 season at a substantially lower weight than he did in each of the previous two seasons. After beginning a weight loss regimen in July 2020, Guerrero went on to lose 42 pounds. The reduced weight made him feel "quicker, stronger and more resilient." He opened the 2021 season as the Blue Jays' primary first baseman while also getting routine starts at the designated hitter position.