It's the kind of prophecy that feels like it's out of a movie, but imagine being in Montreal in 2003, around when it became clear that Vladimir Guerrero was leading the Expos in free agency. Cause it would feel like all the hope was going away with the loss of one guy. Imagine if you had the knowledge to go 'don't worry...there will be another Vladimir Guerrero in 15 years, and he'll be just as good as the previous one, and what's more...he'll get to spend even more of his career in Canada. Cause that's where he was born'.
It sounds ridiculous, but somehow Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has guaranteed, even just 8 seasons into his career, that even as legendary as his father was in all his years in the league...he will be the most Canadian Vladimir Guerrero to ever play. Canada by way of the DR. It just gets more Arthurian the more you think about it. Born in Montreal, plays in Toronto, gets 'em to their first World Series since before he was born, and signs a contract ensuring he'll stay in Canada for years to come. All that remains is for him to play well, and that's what he's been doing.
Through 8 seasons, Vlad Jr. has 185 home runs [15 away from 200, and that's certainly doable], 603 RBIs, 1107 hits, a career .290 average and 26.8 WAR. By 27, that's a strong resume, even without adding the 5 straight all-star appearances and the 8 homers in one postseason. The expectations were huge for Guerrero, and he's definitely risen to them. I think in 2023 there was a moment where we all kinda rethought things for a second, as he was only hitting .260 and not getting 30 homers, but then he replied with 2 straight top-tier seasons and that postseason campaign. Right now he's hitting .337 with 12 RBIs and 30 hits, proving that the emphasis doesn't have to be on power all the time. Guerrero's just turned into a truly tremendous hitter, and an excellent centerpiece player who, even without Bo Bichette, can still command a lineup.
The Jays themselves, meanwhile, are under .500 and doing their best to bounce back. The full team effort from 2025 seems to have subsided slightly, as the lineup's a bit more piecemeal. Losing Kirk and Springer hurts, and not even a surprise bench turn from Eloy Jimenez and the latent production of Kazuma Omamoto have patched things tremendously. It's just a comparatively less exciting lineup, and that returns the Jays to being a slightly above average team in a division where you need to be overwhelmingly great to survive. The Rays and Orioles are head of the Jays in the division in a year where the Jays felt like a shoo-in for at least 2nd. The pitching is only marginally better, as the 'break in case of emergency' starters, Eric Lauer and Patrick Corbin, are already several starts into the season, Scherzer's looking really cooked and Jeff Hoffman forgot how to save games.
Of course this team can turn things around, as they've done it before. But it just seems like even more of an uphill battle than last year. In 2025, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. felt like one of many prime, pivotal hitters, and now it feels like more is on his shoulders again. Hopefully the rest begin to step up soon.
Coming Tomorrow- He was elite, he got hurt, he struggled...and now he appears to be back.
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