John Schneider’s 3-word claim on rising Blue Jays weapon serves as warning to rest of MLB
Toronto’s manager had huge praise for his prized rookie pitcher.
“Rodríguez brings an intensity to the mound — “He’s not scared,” Schneider said when asked about his in-game demeanor — and attacks hitters with his entire arsenal of pitches in any count. Despite feeling myriad emotions, Rodríguez said he was able to control them Saturday by focusing on executing his game plan. He mixed in his five pitches, though he leaned most heavily on his 95.5 mph four-seam fastball and 85.7 mph slider.
Rodríguez also dropped in his tricky hesitation delivery. It’s a maneuver he uses to mess up a hitter’s timing, including on his first career strikeout against Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who whiffed at a slider on the edge of the strike zone in the first inning.”
After representing Cuba in last year’s World Baseball Classic, Rodriguez took the remainder of the year off from professional baseball and instead worked on preparing to transition to the big leagues. He established residency in the Dominican Republic and was declared an MLB free agent after the 2023 season.
The Blue Jays signed Rodriguez to a five-year, $32 million deal this offseason to boost their pitching depth in the short term and potentially develop a starting pitcher in the long term. Two weeks into the season, after Rodriguez’s hot start in the minor leagues, the Blue Jays turned to him to start the second game against the Rockies.
The 27-year-old right-hander allowed just one run over 3 2/3 innings in his Blue Jays debut.
Blue Jays rotation struggles
One of the chief struggles for the Blue Jays has been their pitching; at present, they
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m pretty disappointed in our starters so far. This is my third start and two of my starts were terrible, in my opinion, so I’m no help to the problem. The biggest thing for us is getting our starters going. I’m so confident in the guys we have, it’s just that the first 10 or 11 games have been pretty rough for us, outside of Berrios,” Bassitt said.
The beginning of 2024 has been rather dreadful for Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman. His surface-level stats are horrendous, as he has put up a 11.57 ERA in three starts (9.1 innings) this season.
A look at Vladdy’s career accomplishments as he turns 25
In 2019, the Blue Jays underwent a lot of changes and saw the arrival of many young players who quickly imposed themselves as key players. One of them was first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who turns 25 years old today.
Career Stats
While still being this young, Guerrero has already taken part in 660 big league games. Only 4 active players have played more games than him before turning 25 years old: Juan Soto (779), Bryce Harper (768), Mike Trout (762), and Manny Machado (687). Since his second season in 2020, Guerrero has only missed 9 games due to injury or rest. In that span, only three players have played more games than him: Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, and Freddie Freeman.
Guerrero has also hit 130 homers since he made his big league debut. Again, this is the 5th best total among active players. The ones to outrank him are: Juan Soto (160), Mike Trout (160), Giancarlo Stanton (154), and Bryce Harper (150).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at 25 years old:
— 660 GP | 2,843 PA
— 706 H | 130 HR | 404 RBI
— 128 wRC+ | 10.1 fWAR
— Most HR in a season by a player under 22 in MLB history
— Youngest MVP finalist in Blue Jays history
— 3x AL All-Star
— 1x AL 1A Gold Glove
— 1x AL 1B Silver Slugger… pic.twitter.com/hvnSI2yTo3— BlueJays Muse (@BlueJays_Muse) March 16, 2024
The Blue Jays first baseman is also known for his ability to drive in runs. Since 2019, he leads the team in RBI with 404. This is also the 10th best total in the entire league in that span, ranked among players like Freddie Freeman, Nolan Arenado, and José Ramirez.
Guerrero has also accumulated 10.1 wins above average (WAR) since 2019, according to FanGraphs. This ranks him 12th among qualified first baseman. If you look at first baseman fWAR leaders since 2021, Guerrero comes in fifth place.
2021 Season
In 2021, Guerrero had just turned 22 years old and might have had the best season ever by a player that age. He hit .311 at the plate and had a 1.002 OPS, which resulted in a 167 OPS+. He also slugged 48 home runs, setting a new single-season record for most home runs by a player 22 or younger. The record was previously established in 1937 by Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio, who hit 47 that year.
Guerrero also drove in 111 runs, and walked 86 times. He was also put on base intentionally 7 times, via intentional bases on balls.
All those achievements led him to a Silver Slugger Award, given only to the best hitter at specific positions during the season. He also finished second in AL MVP voting, losing to Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.
Awards
In 2019, Guerrero finished sixth in AL rookie of the year voting. He hit .272 at the plate and had a .772 OPS. He also drove in 69 runs in 514 plate appearances. It led him to sixth place in American League Rookie of the Year that year. Yordan Alvarez won the award.
Guerrero came up to the big leagues as a third baseman and it did not go well for him. He played the 2019 season there, appearing in 824.1 innings at the hot corner, recording -3 Defensive Runs Saved, and a dismal -20 Outs Above Average. The following year, the Blue Jays moved him across the diamond, where he became a very solid first baseman. In 2022, Guerrero won the AL first baseman gold glove, recording 3 DRS, and -4 OAA.
Guerrero has also been nominated for the all-star team on three different occasions. He made it in each of the last three seasons.
Conclusion
It’s easy to forget how young Guerrero still is considering how long he’s been around, but it’s important to remember what he has done for this team and that his best years are still ahead of him.
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