He played the entire game after starting at DH for the World team, going 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored. In the Wild Card Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, he was shut down by the Rays' pitching, however, going 1 for 7 in the two games, his only hit a single, with a hit-by-pitch and 4 strikeouts. Gabe Lacques: "As Blue Jays flounder, phenom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. impresses: 'None of this scares him'". His 1st-inning hit in that game was measured at 118 mph coming off his bat, the hardest-hit ball by any Blue Jays player since the start of the Statcast era. In 2021, he led the major leagues in home runs (48, tied), runs scored (123), and total bases (363). Jorge L. Ortiz: "Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette show off their child's play at Futures Game", July 9, 2017. [68], Guerrero then became the first player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a game (April 13), then strike out at least four times the following game (April 14). 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. Juan Toribio: "Vlad Jr. sets records in stunning Derby display". [6] His mother, Riquelma Ramos, learned to speak French while living in Montreal and later moved with him to the Dominican Republic, where Vladimir Jr. spent most of his early childhood. Another trait he shares with his father is his close relationship to Altagracia Guerrero, Vladimir Sr.'s mother and his own grandmother. A few days earlier, on May 11th he had shown signs of breaking out of his slump when he reached base all four times he went to bat in a loss to the Chicago White Sox, with a pair of singles and two walks. He was the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home run, eclipsing future basketball star Danny Ainge. [63] On September 6, in a game against the New York Yankees, Guerrero hit his 40th home run of the season, joining his father as the second father-son duo in MLB history to each have a 40-home run season in their careers. [50] In 2019, Guerrero batted .272/.339/.433 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI in 464 at bats.

The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. On April 27th, he had the first three-homer game of his career in a 9-5 win over the Washington Nationals, including a grand slam off Max Scherzer, already the third of his career.

[70][71], Guerrero speaks English with his Blue Jays teammates and team staff but gives media interviews, including the one on the field after winning the 2021 All-Star Game MVP, in Spanish using the team's interpreter. He hit .316 with 7 homers and 45 RBIs in 71 games for the Lansing Lugnuts in the first half of 2017, then was promoted to the Advanced Class A Dunedin Blue Jays to coincide with his appearance in the Futures Game. Cousin Gabriel Guerrero reached the majors in 2018, and a number of other cousins, including Jose Guerrero, Gregory Guerrero and Josue Guerrero have either been signed by major league teams or are considered top-rank amateur prospects. He hit.381 in 95 games, had 20 home runs, 78 RBI, and 38 strikeouts, and was voted Baseball America and USA Todays Minor League Player of the Year in 2018. A right-handed batter and thrower, he is widely regarded as one of MLB's best active hitters. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. He said of Wilton "I think everything I've learned in baseball has been from him. On September 13th, he hit #45, one more than his father had ever hit in a season. [11] He signed with Toronto on July 2, 2015, for $3.9 million at age 16. That homer also allowed him to pass Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead. Before the debate on whether he should start the year in Toronto or wait a few weeks in AAA at the behest of the team in order to set his arbitration clock back by a year, he suffered a left oblique strain in a Grapefruit League game on March 8th, preventing him from playing for an expected three weeks, at which point he would need some rehabilitation time to be ready for the Show, with 15 days spent in the minors being enough to alleviate any risk of early eligibility for arbitration. He ended the month of May tied with three others for the major league home run lead at 16, having hit .302 with 9 homers and 22 RBIs during the month. [45], On May 14, against the San Francisco Giants in Oracle Park, Guerrero hit his first major league home run in the first inning off Nick Vincent. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. In early July 2020, as training camp was resuming following the long interruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, manager Charlie Montoyo announced that Guerrero would start playing first base, and that he would spend most of his time in the upcoming season there and at DH. In 2019 he said, "I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible so I can talk to fans. After an uncharacteristic slump that lasted for a good part of August, he found his power stroke again and on September 6th hit his 40th homer in an 8-0 win over the New York Yankees. He was the leading vote-getter for the 2021 All-Star Game and while he declined to take part in the Home Run Derby, he took another star turn in the game itself, hitting a scorching liner that almost decapitated P Max Scherzer in the 1st, and then crushing a pitch some 468 feet to left field off Corbin Burnes in the 3rd for the AL's second run. Jorge L. Ortiz: "As Vladimir Guerrero eyes Hall of Fame, his family tree strengthens in Dominican". Required fields are marked *. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Week in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. Nurudeen Mohammed is a certified Digital Marketer and SEO strategist who helps bloggers and entrepreneurs grow their online presence. After beginning a weight loss regimen in July 2020, Guerrero went on to lose 42 pounds. [49] 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. 1 International Prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr", "Where the Blue Jays' Top 30 prospects are starting the season", "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to debut with Blue Jays' rookie ball affiliate", "Like father, like home run: Dad sees Vlad Jr. jack", "Vladimir Guerrero Register Statistics & History", "At the Letters: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. already exceeding expectations", "2017 Prospect Watch: Top 10 Third Basemen", "Blue Jays catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia makes first start", "Top Jays prospect Guerrero hits first MWL blast", "Guerrero, Bichette highlight MWL All-Stars", "The List: Five To Watch At The Futures Game", "Blue Jays to promote prospects Bichette, Guerrero Jr. to Dunedin", "Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. named ESPN's Prospect of the Year", "Who is our 2017 MLB Prospect of the Year? What was interesting was that it came in his 258th game, which is exactly how many his father had needed to get to 50 as well! [19], Entering the 2018 season, Guerrero was considered the top prospect in the Blue Jays organization by MLB and Baseball America. On June 14th, he was hit on the left hand by a fastball thrown by Gerrit Cole of the Houston Astros in the 1st inning. [37], 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. All rights reserved. He won the American League Hank Aaron Award & the Tip O'Neill Award for 2021, [65] but finished second in American League MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani. [75] In a 2012 paternity suit it was revealed that Vladimir Sr. has eight children with five different women, meaning Vladimir Jr. has at least seven siblings. [18] Guerrero played in 62 games for Bluefield in 2016, and hit .271 with eight home runs, 46 runs batted in (RBI), and 15 stolen bases. He was the winner of the Silver Slugger Award at first base and finished second in the MVP vote behind Ohtani. 2022 VimBuzz.com - Designed by Vim Buzz Media.

He's the one who taught me to practice well. Arden Zwelling: "Guerrero Jr. hopes to be in majors in two years". Keegan Matheson: "Slimmer Vlad a sight to see: 'I feel quicker'". Keegan Matheson: "3-HR night for Vlad Jr? [36] On August 30, the Blue Jays added Guerrero to the roster of the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League (AFL). His total of 91 was miles ahead of what anyone had ever hit at the event, and he also hit the longest homer of the night, a mighty 488-foot blast off the scoreboard. 1 Blue Jays prospect by Baseball America", "Jays' Guerrero, Bichette to open in Double-A", "Vlad Guerrero Jr. Wins Second Player of the Week Award", "Vlad Guerrero Jr. Named Player of the Month", "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to be re-evaluated in 4 weeks with patella strain", "Vladdy Jr. heading to Arizona Fall League", "MLB's top prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. are bound to be victims of service time manipulation", "Union concerned over Blue Jays 'manipulation' of phenom Vlad Guerrero Jr", "Vlad Jr. strains left oblique, out 3 weeks", "Vladdy Fever: Top-ranked prospect Guerrero Jr. set for Blue Jays debut", "Blue Jays to call up top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Friday", "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. produces his best MLB performance to date", "Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s week of milestones continued with his first glove-assisted home run", "Vlad Jr., Bell earn Player of Week honors", "Vlad Guerrero Jr. continues home run tear in tough Blue Jays loss", "MLB hitters set record for most home runs in single month", "The summer of Vlad Guerrero Jr. is here and his dingerific Home Run Derby show proved it", "Statcast Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com", "Vlad Jr. transitioning to the other corner", "Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Takes the Reigns In Preparation for 2021", "Vlad Jr. feels stronger, quicker after weight loss", "3-HR night for Vlad Jr? To become more discoverable, tell a richer story, and build a stronger brand for yourself, contact me at [emailprotected], Your email address will not be published. As soon as he became eligible to sign a professional contract, the Blue Jays grabbed him on July 2, 2015, giving him a $3.9 million signing bonus; Ismael Cruz was the scout. Despite the injury, he remained in the game and hit two more home runs, finishing the day at 4-for-4 with 3 home runs and 4 RBIs. [62] In the game, he hit the 200th home run in All-Star Game history, became part of the third father-son duo to hit home runs in All-Star Games, and was named as the game's Most Valuable Player. [7][8][9] His parents separated when he was very young and his mother moved to Santiago, Dominican Republic. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. [61] On July 1, Guerrero was named the starting first baseman for the American League in the All-Star Game. He made outs in his first three at-bats, although that included a couple of balls lifted to the warning track, then he came up a fourth time to lead off the 9th with the score tied at 2-2 against Yusmeiro Petit.

[34] On June 6, Guerrero was removed from a game against the Akron RubberDucks with a leg injury. [52], The start of the 2020 campaign was delayed into July by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gregor Chisholm: "Vlad Jr.'s time is coming just have to wait a bit". Wearing his father's iconic number 27 and facing the Oakland Athletics at the Rogers Centre, he started at third base and batted fifth. [55] The reduced weight made him feel "quicker, stronger and more resilient. On August 10th, his first career triple off Adam Ottavino drove in two runs that made the difference in a 5-4 Blue Jays win over the Yankees. On June 12th, he became the first major league player to reach 20 homers that season, having already obliterated his personal best of 15, set in his rookie season. He was batting .407 at the time of the injury. He is part of a very large baseball family. Defensively, scouts were unsure if he could remain at third base at the major league level, but he has shown the potential to develop into a passable defender. He had a signature moment on March 27th as he homered off Jack Flaherty of the St. Louis Cardinals to break a scoreless tie with two outs in the 9th inning. [59] The next closest vote-getter was Ronald Acua Jr., a center fielder for the Atlanta Braves of the National League. [56] On June 21, Guerrero rejected an invitation to participate in the 2021 Home Run Derby, despite setting the records for most home runs in a single round (29) and most home runs in a single derby (91) in 2019. He then added a second homer in the 7th inning, a three-run blast off Reyes Moronta, to lead Toronto to a 7-3 win. In the sixth inning, with two men on, he hit another home run off Reyes Moronta. His combined score for the two measurements also shattered any previous record. Keegan Matheson: "Vlad Jr.: 'Now you guys are going to see the movie'". [53] Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Guerrero played in all 60 games of the shortened season and batted .262 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs.[54]. He finished his stint in Buffalo at .336 in 30 games, giving him a combined average of .381 with four different teams, counting two brief rehabilitation assignments. The Blue Jays barely missed the postseason, and he finished the year at .311 with 48 homers and 111 RBIs in 161 games. [1][2], Born in Montreal, Guerrero Jr. was signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent in 2015. Vladimir Guerrero Ramos Jr. (born March 16, 1999) is a Canadian-Dominican professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). [48] On May 31, Guerrero's sixth home run, against the Colorado Rockies, was the 1,135th home run in May throughout Major League Baseball, breaking the MLB record for most home runs in a single month. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. He was named a member of the World team for the 2017 Futures Game and was in fact the youngest player in the game. Jesse Yomtov: "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the real winner of the Home Run Derby". He played 48 games for Dunedin, hitting .333 with 7 homers and 31 RBIs to finish the season with a combined line of .323/.425/.485 in 119 games, with 84 runs, 28 doubles, 13 homers and 76 RBIs. On April 27, 2021, Guerrero had his first career three-homer game, including a grand slam against Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer, to go along with 7 RBI on the day. He was voted to the AL All-Star roster in 2021, during which he was voted MVP, the youngest to do so in All-Star Game history,[3] while also finishing second in AL MVP votes for the season. Guerrero began the 2021 MLB season at a substantially lower weight than he did each of the previous two seasons. In his next two games, he homered as well to make it four straight contests with a long ball. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Vladimir Guerrero Jr Son: Meet Pedro Guerrero. [32] Through the first month of the season, he led the Eastern League with a .398 batting average and 30 runs batted in. Copyright 2000-2020 Sports Reference LLC. [6], In 2003, Vladimir Sr. received a standing ovation during his final game for the Expos at Olympic Stadium. Mike Petriello: "The book is out on how to pitch to Vlad Jr.: Guerrero's SLG% down 154 points from stellar 2021". [12][13] Guerrero was assigned to extended spring training camp to open the 2016 minor league season. On April 10, 2022, he hit what was his longest regular season home run thus far for his first dinger of the year, a 467-foot shot off Spencer Howard of the Texas Rangers at the Rogers Centre; only his monster blast at the previous year's All-Star Game had gone longer, and only by one foot. He made his major league debut in April 2019 and is the son of former Major League Baseball player and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr. He wasn't there full time, as he was also the DH for 23 games in addition to his 34 starts at first, with Rowdy Tellez and Travis Shaw playing first when he was DH'ing. [69], Guerrero was seen as a top prospect due to his exceptional hitting ability, which scouts often graded an 80, the highest possible mark on baseball's 20-to-80 scouting scale. He was the youngest-ever winner of the award. Additionally, throughout the entire season, he garnered the second-most votes for AL MVP. But It's Cool", "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. declares God the MVP after making history at MLB All-Star Game", Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVP Award, American League First Baseman Silver Slugger Award, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Guerrero_Jr.&oldid=1099448280, Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States, Canadian people of Dominican Republic descent, Sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent, Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States, Major League Baseball players from Canada, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from April 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, April 26,2019,for theToronto Blue Jays, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 20 July 2022, at 20:53. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. He is the son of former MLB player and Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., making his major league debut in April 2019. [33] On June 4, Guerrero was named the Eastern League's Player of the Month after hitting .438 with nine home runs and 28 RBI in May. His power often received a 70 grade, which indicates a "plus-plus" tool in the scouting industry. Do you have a sports website? Even dad never did it! There was rare unanimity in the voting, as all 30 voters selected Ohtani first, and 29 of 30 put Vlad second. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the son of Vladimir Guerrero.

[6], As a youth, Guerrero was trained in baseball by his uncle, Wilton. The International League turned out not to be any more of a challenge than previous levels, as in his first 8 games with the Bisons, he hit .462 with 2 homers and 8 walks (against just one K). [43] 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. He led the minor leagues in average, slugging percentage (.636) and OPS (1.073). He finished the season at .272 in 123 games, with 26 doubles, 15 homers and 69 RBIs. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. [66], On March 22, 2022, Guerrero signed a $7.9 million contract with the Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. He was the first Blue Jays player to win, the first Canadian citizen to win, and the youngest All-Star Game MVP at age 22 and 119 days, beating Ken Griffey Jr. when he was 22 and 236 days. With this, the Guerreros became only the second father-son tandem in history to reach the mark, after Cecil and Prince Fielder. [47] On May 22, he hit his first home run at the Rogers Centre off Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox. During that round of evaluation, he became the first prospect ever to be assigned a perfect grade of 80 for hitting ability; others had received the grade for their power, speed, defense, or for a specific pitch. Like his father, he displayed tremendous hitting ability at a young age, wowing Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos when he saw him take batting practice as a 14-year-old. That said, he still had to learn a new position and made some quite obvious mistakes during the season, although he improved markedly as he got more experience. 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. She famously lived with Vlad Sr. in Montreal, cooked for him and did his laundry, and did the same thing with her grandson in the minor leagues.

(Vladdy; Vladito). His father told him to take off his helmet and wave to the crowd, resulting in what has been called an iconic photo. He lined a double down the first base line, then was replaced by pinch runner Alen Hanson, who came in to score the winning run when Brandon Drury, who had been moved from third base to second by Vlad's arrival, hit a walk-off homer to give Toronto a storybook 4-2 win. He began his professional career in 2016 with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League. Following the 2020 season, he returned to the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League and was playing third base, with the objective of playing the position again with the Blue Jays in 2021. His strong start made it possible that he could accomplish a very rare feat: hitting .400 over a full season in a U.S.-based minor league, something last accomplished by Aaron Pointer in 1961 (a few players had done it since in short-season leagues, most notably Gary Redus who hit .462 in the Pioneer League in 1978). After the season, he joined the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League. This section will be updated when we learn more. [16] On August 12, Guerrero recorded his first multi-home run game, hitting two solo shots in an 185 win against the Pulaski Yankees. On April 13th, he made more history in a 6-4 win over the Yankees, with the second three-homer game of his career. He also broke the record for most home runs in a derby with 91, although he lost the final round to Pete Alonso. [17] Later in August, he was named the Appalachian League's All-Star at third base. The idea was to take him away from a position where he was a below-average defender to have him focus mainly on his bread-and-butter going forward, his hitting. He hit 29 doubles and 20 homers in 95 games, with 67 runs and 78 RBIs. [60] It was Guerrero's first Player of the Week honor since August 2019. He got off to a very hot start: after 13 games, he was batting .413 with an OPS of 1.200 and had reached base in all of his games. Some defensive statistics Copyright Baseball Info Solutions, 2010-2020. [5] He was born in Montreal while his father was playing for the Montreal Expos and is a Canadian citizen. Doug Alden (Canadian Press): "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. making Fisher Cats a must-follow team". [40], On April 24, 2019, the Blue Jays announced that Guerrero would be called up from Triple-A Buffalo on April 26. [38][39] 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. He finished at .262 with 9 homers and 33 RBIs, good for an OPS+ of 115, and was one of only a handful of players in the majors to play all 60 games that season. Guerrero would split time between Santiago with his mother, Don Gregorio with his uncle, Wilton, and, during the summer, in the United States with his father. Join our linker program. On September 4th, he was named the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year and a couple of days later obtained the same honor from Baseball America. [27] Guerrero finished the 2017 regular season with a .323 batting average, 13 home runs, and 76 RBI in 119 games played. As soon as he was healthy, he resumed his job of battering minor league pitching, hitting .267 in 4 rehab games at Dunedin, and then .381 with 2 homers over his first 6 games with Buffalo. Vladimir Guerrero Jr Mother: Who Is Altagracia? I've been practicing with him since I was five. He was chosen for the 2021 AL All-Star roster, and that year he became the All-Star Games youngest MVP ever. Keegan Matheson: "Vlad Jr. aims to reclaim 3B with winter work". He hit a record 29 homers in the first round, then 40 in an epic match-up with Joc Pederson in the second round that required no less than three tie-breakers, before falling just one short of eventual winner Pete Alonso in the final round, 23 to 22. Mark Feinsand: "Vlad youngest MVP after ASG HR for ages". It should also be noted that his illustrious father had never had a three-homer game during his career. "[6], Eligible for free agency in 2015, Baseball America ranked Guerrero as the top international free agent,[10] and MLB.com ranked him the fourth-best. In a 63 win over the Great Lakes Loons on April 7, he hit his first home run of the season. The Jays traded one of their top minor league pitching prospects, Chase De Jong, and another future major leaguer in Tim Locastro, to the Los Angeles Dodgers in order to secure additional bonus pool money needed to sign the young Vlad. What College Did Vladimir Guerrero Jr Go To? Observers ranked him with the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr. as the greatest prospect ever - very exclusive company. [67] During an April 13, 2022, game against the New York Yankees, Guerrero hit a home run off Gerrit Cole and subsequently had his hand stepped on by Aaron Hicks during a play at first base. He earned American League Player of the Week honors. His dream season was interrupted on June 7th when he had to go on the disabled list with a strained patellar tendon in his left knee, forcing him to miss a month of action. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. [21], Guerrero opened the 2017 minor league season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts.