Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in his eighth MLB season, and the first year of a 14-year, $500 million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. Throughout his career, all he’s done is hit. Usually this has come in the form of power hitting.
There has always been the question of year-over-year consistency, and this year has been no different. This season has been interesting for the primary first baseman. He’s not hitting for big power numbers, but is performing more like a savvy contact hitter than anything.
In 59 games, Guerrero Jr. has a .297 batting average with a .390 on-base percentage and .777 OPS. Despite this, he has only 3 home runs and 24 RBI.
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High average and on-base percentage is nothing new for the 27-year-old. This year, he is running an impressive 12% walk rate and 10% strikeout rate. The walk rate is around his career-best, and the strikeout rate is easily his best.
It’s certainly reasonable to say that this kind of approach is what’s sapped his power. Three home runs more than a third into the season is not what you want.
Though not performing up to his peak abilities, the numbers are still undeniable. The Blue Jays took to X on Wednesday afternoon to make fans aware of All-Star voting and to cast their votes for the first baseman.
The post included several other above-average big leaguers, such as Kazuma Okamoto and Ernie Clement. Even with those bright spots on the roster, the club has struggled.
Toronto is 29-32, fourth place in the American League East and eight games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. Their underperformance a year after making it to the World Series can mostly be chalked up to a variety of injuries.
The team has had several important players on the shelf for some time now, including lineup mainstays like Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger. The list also has reliable arms like Shane Bieber and Yimi García on it.
They’ll have to wait a good while before the squad is fully healthy. For now, all the Blue Jays can do is market the players they have for the All-Star team, like Guerrero Jr.
