Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s breakout season continued with another monster effort Tuesday in Dunedin (the Blue Jays’ temporary home until Canada loosens its travel restrictions), teeing off on Washington with three homers and seven RBI, both career-highs for the third-year slugger. Two of Vlad Jr.’s homers Tuesday came off Nats ace Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner and certain Hall-of-Famer.
The Dominican Republic native (though he also spent portions of his childhood in Montreal, where his father spent the first several years of his career) made a concerted effort to get in better shape after a down year in 2020, shedding 42 pounds this winter. The work Guerrero put in this offseason has already paid dividends with the 22-year-old hitting a robust .360 with seven homers through his first 22 games. Vlad Jr., who has settled in as Toronto’s primary first baseman, also owns the majors’ fourth-highest OPS at 1.177. With George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez both absent from the Jays’ lineup (the latter is battling COVID), Guerrero’s offensive resurgence couldn’t have come at a better time.
Proud papa Vlad Sr., a one-time American League MVP and member of baseball’s 2018 Hall of Fame class, marveled at his son’s performance against Washington, congratulating Vlad Jr. for belting three homers Tuesday night, a feat the former Angels and Expos outfielder never accomplished in his 16 MLB seasons.
The Blue Jays, who reached the playoffs for the first time in four years last fall (the Rays swept them in the Wild Card round), boast a potent young lineup centered around the core trio of Vlad Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, all sons of former big-leaguers. With Guerrero playing at an MVP level, the upstart Jays could be a dark horse to win the AL East this year, particularly with the underachieving Yankees off to a sluggish 10-13 start.
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