It was is a fun exercise: Would you trade Rafael Devers for Vlad Guerrero Jr.?
It's a solid baseball debates, and oftentimes those are the best kind arguments.
But it's time to move on from digging in one side or another. What Monday night at Fenway Park reminded us was the once-in-a-life time kind of dynamic these two players might be giving us.
The snapshot within a 30-minute span was almost too perfect.
First came Guerrero Jr.'s game-tying blast with two outs in the ninth inning against Red Sox' lock-down closer Matt Barnes. Even with Barnes' excellence, it was almost too predictable. If the pitcher cracked the door open even the slightest bit, the Blue Jays' slugger was going to storm through.
In this case, it was a curveball over the middle of the plate that offered the invitation. Guerrero Jr. gladly accepted.
Not be outdone, Devers took advantage of his moment a half-inning later. The Red Sox' third baseman punctuated the Red Sox' fifth walk-off of the season with a blast off the left-center field wall, scoring Alex Verdugo to seal the Sox' much-needed, 3-2 win over Toronto.
As good as Guerrero Jr. has been -- and he has been Triple Crown kind of good -- Devers is remarkably keeping pace in the conversation.
Watching the two playfully pull on one another uniforms, or smile from across the field, you just get the sense this is dynamic that will be part of baseball's solution for years to come.
And making the story even better is knowing how both players dodged the boulders while climbing up the hill. For Guerrero Jr., it was simply about losing 40 pounds, making the entire talented package work at a new level.
"Amazing. Amazing. Let’s take the Red Sox, Blue Jays thing … It’s eye-opening when kids put in work and then it pays off," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. I saw a highlight today on the (MLB) Network. They were talking about him catching up with fastballs this season compared to last year. They were breaking down the swings and all that stuff. His swing is the same swing. His plate discipline is the same plate discipline. His body is different. He put in work and you see it. Like I said, I’m very proud of that kid because that’s what it’s all about. It’s kind of like the same thing as Raffy. I know a lot of people have those conversations. It’s great to see kids put in work and do the job and understand that when you make adjustments it’s going to pay off because they are that talented. Honestly, I’m very proud of that kid because it’s amazing what he’s done."
Devers' transformation wasn't so much a long-term endeavor as it was the need for a quick-fix.
For the first four days of June, Devers couldn't hit a fastball, with the Astros serving as the chief benefactors. But, sure enough, the 24-year-old managed to fix what ailed him, as was evident in his last two games which saw the lefty hitter manage four hits on the six balls he put in play on heaters.
"I think it starts with a base hit the other way. It was against (Framber) Valdez in Houston, right? Him and Timmy (Hyers) and Pete (Fatse), they put in work. His mechanics were off. I mean, way off," Cora noted. "And it felt like a little kid when you throw to them and they keep swinging and swinging and swinging and they want to hit it, and swinging and swinging and swinging, instead of just trying to stay back and hit it the other way. They caught up with some fastball. They did it to him last year with fastballs. It’s something that certain teams have recognized and they take advantage of it. But now I do believe mechanics-wise he has been able to cover the fastball. And obviously he’s always been able to hit soft stuff in the zone."
The manager added, "I think it was a hard lesson, that Houston series, but a good one. Sometimes you have to take a step back to keep moving forward. The reality was that they exposed him. Let’s be honest. He learned from it. He put some good swings toward the end of that series. Gets the big swing in New York. And then against Houston here he was good. So the fact that he’s able to make adjustments it tells you that he’s growing. He’s still a kid, but he’s growing. He’s one of the best third basemen int the big leagues. He’s been amazing these first few months. The cool thing about this is probably this is his best start professionally, right? He always struggles in the first half and then he becomes a monster in the second half. Hopefully he becomes a monster and he can add up to what he’s doing. If that happens it should be a fun summer."
Sit back and enjoy. The Devers and Guerrero Jr. Show has just begun.