Blue Jays: Vlad and Bo make the Baseball America Top 10

Baseball America released their top 100 prospects list on Monday, and the Blue Jays were the only team in baseball with two prospects in the top 10.

The future is looking brighter in Toronto all the time, especially with some of the elite talent that’s brewing in the minor league system. The Blue Jays and their fan base knows all too well about some of the more exciting names, and the rest of the baseball world is becoming more aware all the time as well.

That much was evident on Wednesday when Baseball America released their updated version of the top 100 prospects, and the Blue Jays are the only team with two players in the top ten. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is currently ranked third, and Bo Bichette wasn’t far behind in the eighth spot. The Jays also had two others make the list, as Anthony Alford came in at #60, and Nate Pearson, who was drafted last year and starred in Vancouver during a brief stint, is already recognized at #91.

It was expected that Guerrero may challenge for the top overall spot, and while he came up just short on the list this time, it won’t be long before his name sits at the top. He was behind only two players, Ronald Acuna of the Atlanta Braves, and Shohei Ohtani, who was signed by the Los Angeles Angels and will debut in the MLB this season. With both players expected to lose their prospect status early in the season and Guerrero just 18 years old, it’s likely that he’ll top the list by the time the next update rolls around.

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They’ve both been discuss an awful lot around Blue Jays’ circles this offseason, but in case you missed how they performed in 2017, here are the numbers:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Split between the High and Low A ball)

.316/.409/.480, 7 HR, 45 RBI, 21 doubles, in 71 games (Lansing- Low A)

.333/.450/.494, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 7 doubles, in 48 games (Dunedin- High A)

Bo Bichette (Same split/promotion schedule as Guerrero)

.384/.448/.623, 10 HR, 51 RBI, 32 doubles in 70 games

.323/.379/.463, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 9 doubles in 40 games

And as impressive as the numbers are from the dynamic duo, it’s even more exciting when you consider they were just 18 (Vlad) and 19 (Bo) years old in 2017.

Prospects are never a guarantee, but it’s definitely exciting to see that the rest of baseball is recognizing the talent of Guerrero and Bichette, and why the Jays’ brass is so high on the duo. For all the trade rumours and speculation that have taken place this offseason, it’s hard to imagine that Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro would/have ever seriously considered trading either of their future stars.

Next: Atkins has the chance to win us over this offseason

And while they’re both still just teenagers, Guerrero Jr. and Bichette are showing the baseball world that it won’t be long before they’re terrorizing the MLB in the Blue Jays lineup.