Toronto Blue Jays: New Generation Vs. Their MLB Fathers

SURPRISE, AZ - NOVEMBER 03: AFL West All-Star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during the Arizona Fall League All Star Game at Surprise Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SURPRISE, AZ - NOVEMBER 03: AFL West All-Star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays bats during the Arizona Fall League All Star Game at Surprise Stadium on November 3, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Bo Bichette Vs Dante Bichette

Bo Bichette spent all of the 2018 season playing at the Toronto Blue Jays AA affiliate New Hamshire Fisher Cats. He will likely start the season at Buffalo and it’s possible that we could see him make his MLB debut in 2019. For the moment there is quite a logjam in the Blue Jays infield picture, but that could change as the season progresses, whether because of injuries or eventually because of possible trades. Ross Atkins also mentioned that the club hopes that Bichette “forces their hand” this year, so hopefully he’ll have an opportunity to earn a promotion this year at some point. Bo recently landed on our Jays Journal top Blue Jays prospects for 2019 at the cool spot of #2. 

Bo’s father Dante Bichette is a 4x time All-Star journeyman having played for the: California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox over his career. Dante has a career 5.7 WAR, won a silver slugger award, and was the 1995 NL Home Run/RBI Leader.

Dante didn’t crack the majors until he was 24 years old, and was in low-A ball at 20 with only 250 at-bats, so already Bo Bichette has a jump-start on his father’s pace in the minors. But if you compare Dante’s 22-year-old season in AA against last season of Bo’s in New Hampshire (AA), you will notice some striking similarities:

Minor League Comparison:

BO 2018 AA (20):            539AB, 95R, 154H, 11HR, 74RBI, .286AVG, .343OBP, 32SB

DANTE 1986 A/AA(22): 533AB, 82R, 148 H, 22HR, 109RBI, .278AVG .329OBP, 5SB

Runs, Hits, Average, and on-base percentage are all very similar in this comparison. What Bo lacks’ in power compared to his father in home runs, he makes up for with speed stealing 32 bases.