Toronto Blue Jays: New Generation Vs. Their MLB Fathers

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With a list of 2nd generation big leaguers that includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and several more all in the Blue Jays system, and them being the sons of former major league ballplayers, it makes sense for people to start looking to the past to see if it can help predict the future.

Having a look at the Blue Jays minor league system kinda leaves you hoping: Like father like son?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr walking off the last Blue Jays spring training game in 2018 only fuels more comparisons. It was just over 11 months ago that the 19-year-old Vlad Jr launched the game-winning home run in his father’s former home park at Olympic stadium in Montreal, leaving many to wonder if Vlad Guerrero Jr. was as good, or even better prepared to dominate the MLB than his father was.

It was the moment that cemented in lots of fan’s minds that Guerrero was for real, and could carve his own path from underneath his father’s tremendously large shadow.

In 2002, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. raised his helmet alongside his father.

Last night, he hit a walk-off HR in that same stadium, wearing his dad's number. pic.twitter.com/EdNHdKbYNg
— ESPN (@espn) March 28, 2018

Comparing the new generation players to their fathers just isn’t fair when you are talking about Vladimir Guerrero, Dante Bichette, Craig Biggio, and Mark Leiter. Between the four of them there are 20 all-star nominations, 14 silver slugger awards, and two of them are in the Hall of Fame.

That’s quite the high bar.

Could it be possible though that some of the current Blue Jays prospects are already outpacing their fathers when it comes to minor league statistics?

In this slideshow, we will compare those Blue Jays prospects minor league numbers against their fathers at the same age, and see who comes out on top.

We’ll start with Vladimir Guerrero Jr, to see how he measures up to his 9x all-star father’s minor league statistics from his 1995 season.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vs Vladimir Guerrero Sr.

Last year a 19-year-old Vlad Guerrero Jr ascended three levels of minor league baseball, going from Dunedin all the way up to Buffalo and never looking out of place. The general consensus #1 prospect in all of baseball made quick work of opposing pitchers and dominated offensive statistical categories at will. Just this week Vladimir Guererro Jr was ranked the #1 prospect on our Jays Journal top prospects for 2019.

His father Vladimir Guerrero Sr was not as quick to jump the minor league levels in his day. The former nine-time All-Star played rookie-ball at 19, and Single-A in his 20-year-old season. However, Vlad Sr. did make up for lost time in his 1995 season in Single-A by posting monster numbers comparable to those of Vlad Jr’s 2018 season:

Minor League Comparison:

VLAD JR 2018 A/AA/AAA(19): 357AB, 67R, 136H, 20HR, 78 RBI, .381AVG .437OBP, 3SB

VLAD SR 1995 A (20): 421AB, 77R, 140H, 16HR, 63RBI, .333AVG .383OBP, 12SB

The next season in 1996, Vladimir Guerrero Sr would make his Montreal Expos debut at 21 years old. His son Vladimir Guerrero Jr will likely see the majors a year earlier than his father did at 20, and when you compare their minor league numbers it’s hard not to salivate at the thought of Vlad Jr turning into the player his father was. Guerrero Jr won’t have the speed his father did, which is represented by less minor league steals for Jr. last season. However, Guerrero Jr. makes up for his lack of speed with higher power numbers, including an increased HR, and RBI totals, with a higher average and OBP than his father had.

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.

Cavan Biggio Vs Craig Biggio

Cavan Biggio’s 2018 minor league season in AA New Hampshire was a success by all standards for the maturing young infielder. He placed #8 on our Jays Journal 2019 prospects and has a good shot at getting in some MLB playing experience at some point during this upcoming season.

His father Craig Biggio was a 7x time All-Star for the Houston Astro’s spanning a career from 1988 through 2007. He has a career war of 65.5 and was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 on his third ballot. Craig’s minor league stint was short, to say the least, having only 397 at-bats total before making a permanent stay in the majors. By 1988, Craig had cracked Houston’s middle of the pack roster, and he never looked back.

Below is a comparison of Cavan Biggio’s 2018 New Hampshire stats to that of his fathers two seasons mixed between A and AAA.

Minor League Comparison:

CAVAN 2018 AA(23): 449AB, 80R, 113H, 26HR, 99RBI, .252AVG .388OBP, 20SB

CRAIG 1987/88 A/AAA(22/23): 497AB,119R, 171H,12HR, 90RBI, .348AVG ..440OBP, 50SB

(Two years combined stats)

Cavan Biggio may have a little more power than his dad but otherwise falls short of his father’s stats in their minor league comparison. Craig Biggio had more hits, a higher average, higher on-base percentage, and more steals. Cavan Biggio did put up 20 stolen bases last season, which is decent for a power hitter, but his father Craig was statistically superior in his day. Cavan has a shot of being an injury replacement, or September call up in 2019 for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mark Leiter Jr Vs Mark Leiter Sr

Mark Leiter Jr had a rough major league 2018, and many people were surprised to see him kept on the Toronto Blue Jays active roster going into 2019. At 27 years old, Mark has pitched mostly in the minor leagues during his career, but he made appearances for both the Phillies and Blue Jays at the major league level in 2018 with less than desirable results. (0-1, 7.71ERA, 23.1IP, 2.014WHIP)

Mark Leiter Sr also pitched in the minors at 27 years old. He didn’t stay in the majors full-time until 1991. He was 28 that season, playing for the Detroit Tigers and would go on to pitch for nine more seasons in the majors for the Angels, Expos, Giants, Phillies, Mariners, and Brewers pitching to 38 years old.

Mark Leiter Jr’s uncle Al Leiter didn’t have the same issues becoming a big league fixture by 23 after making his debut at 21 years old for the New York Yankees.

If you can forget about Mark Leiter Jr’s major league stats from 2018, and only focus on what he produced in the minors last season, you can see it’s not all bad:

Minor League Comparison:

Mark Leiter Jr 2018 AAA/A+(27): 3-1, 3.24 ERA, 33.1IP, 1.29WHIP, 39SO

Mark Leiter Sr 1990 AAA (27): 9-4, 3.60ERA, 122.2IP, 1.149WHIP, 115SO

The innings total is definitely off between the two, but otherwise, some of the stats are fairly comparable. Being that Mark Leiter Sr was a late bloomer, maybe that is the reason Blue Jays management decided to hang on to Mark Leiter Jr. this offseason. They can see what they have in him in spring training and early on in the season and hope he can take the next step as his father did in 1991 and become a major league pitcher.

JUPITER, FL – MARCH 11: Jeff Conine #18 of the Florida Marlins bats against the Minnesota Twins during their game on March 11, 2004 at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The Marlins won 5-4. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Griffin Conine vs Jeff Conine

Jeff Conine played in the majors for 17 seasons with six teams as a left fielder and first baseman. The two time World Series winner (1997 + 2003) has a career 19.5WAR and was an inaugural member of the Florida Marlins. His son Griffin Conine was just cutting his teeth in professional baseball last season playing low A ball in Vancouver, and he came in at #18 in our Jays Journal top Blue Jays prospects for 2019. His father Jeff played parts of five season’s in the minors and we will compare his first Single-A season in 1988 against his son Griffin’s last season in Vancouver.

Minor League Comparison

Griffin Conine 2018 A-(20): 206AB, 49H, 7HR, 33RBI, .238BA .309OBP, 5SB

Jeff Conine 1988 A (22): 415AB, 113H, 10HR, 59RBI, .272BA .342OBP, 26SB

It’s clear that Jeff Conine received around double the number of at-bats in his 1988 season than his son did last year. However, this does not take away from the fact that their numbers are eerily similar. Jeff had a higher OBP in his day with more steals, but Griffin kept pace in almost every other category. It should be noted though that Griffin Conine’s numbers are from Low-A, while his fathers were Single-A.

Still, if Griffin is able to do the same damage this season in A/AA, the Blue Jays would be thrilled to have a player that could continue where his all-star father left off.

Dwight Smith Jr Vs Dwight Smith Sr

Dwight Smith Jr played a large chunk of his 2018 season at AAA Buffalo, but he did manage to get in 65 major league at-bats for the Blue Jays in 2018. His results in the big leagues were not bad posting a decent line of: 65 AB, 17 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .262 BA .347 OBP.

His father Dwight Smith Sr spent eight years in the majors playing for the Chicago Cubs, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Dwight Smith Sr did not crack the majors until he was 25 years old, holding out hope for Dwight Smith Jr’s chances who turned 26 this past October. Dwight Smith Sr holds a career 2.6WAR and was a serviceable player in his day. We will compare Dwight Smith Sr’s last full season in the minors in 1989 vs his son’s season last year in Buffalo.

Dwight Smith Jr 2018 AAA (25): 310 AB, 83 H, 6 HR, 42 RBI .268 BA, 358 OBP, 9 SB

Dwight Smith Sr 1988 AAA(24): 505 AB, 148 H, 9 HR, 48 RBI. 293 BA .367 OBP, 25 SB

Dwight Smith Jr has far more home runs and RBI’s in his game than his father did. However, looking at the numbers it is Dwight Smith Sr’s plate discipline and speed that impressed me. Smith Sr. had a higher average and OBP than his son with slightly more steals. If Dwight Smith Jr is to become a mainstay in the Majors he will have to develop the more selective eye that his father had.

More from Jays Journal

So there’s definitely some interesting comparisons between the current Blue Jays prospects and their father’s minor league careers. Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette appear to be outpacing or at least matching their fathers when it comes to minor league statistics, and that is very impressive considering ultimately what both their father’s careers ended up to be.

Mark Leiter Jr. and Cavan Biggio both have less pedigree but could make an impact sometime this year for the Blue Jays if they play well during spring training. It’s very interesting that Mark Leiter Sr. didn’t stick in the Majors until he was 28, putting Mark Jr. right on track.

Griffin Conine has some good looking stats for a Low A player and could have a breakout year if things go his way. If he can continue to pace his father minor league numbers, he will almost certainly make an impact at the Major league level.

The player who needs the most to go his way this season would be Dwight Smith Jr. who is trying to crack an already busy Blue Jays outfield. If he’s unsuccessful he may be relegated to Buffalo once again to work on his craft. The fact that his father Dwight Smith Sr only made his debut at 25 years old leaves some optimism.

Then there is the case of Kacy Clemens, our last Blue Jays son of a former MLB player. Kacy had a decent year at A- Lansing this past season ( 93 AB, 28 H, 7 HR, 25 RBI, .301 BA .454 OBP). However, with him as a position player and his father as a starting pitcher, its hard to compare stats between the two in general, yet while searching for statistics for this article, I took a look at Roger Clemens 21 year old season at A/AA.

(81 IP, 7-2, 1.33 ERA, 95 SO)

Those numbers make you wonder, have we even tried Kacy in the bullpen yet? (He was a promising pitching prospect several years back before injuries pushed him away from the mound)

Next. Age is just a number and shouldn't matter for Vlad Jr.. dark

What do you think Jays Journal subscribers? Do you think our new generation Blue Jays have the same gifts their fathers had? Can Vladimir Guerrero Jr possibly continue to statistically outpace his 9x All-Star father?

Let us know in the comments!

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