Blue Jays: Some perspective on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from Vernon Wells

Every Blue Jay fan (and baseball fan for that matter) is excited about Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s debut, but Vernon Wells relayed an important message on Twitter.

It feels like we’ve been talking about it forever, but the day has finally come that we’ll see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. put on a Blue Jays’ uniform and take the field in the big leagues.

The 20-year-old is almost certainly the most hyped prospect in Blue Jays’ history, and with that comes a lot of excitement, and some pretty big expectations. Honestly, the way the kid has performed throughout his minor league career leads many of us to believe that he’ll thrive at the highest level from day one. He very well may do just that, but there are a few important things to keep in mind.

In fact, former Blue Jay outfielder Vernon Wells summed things up pretty perfectly with a tweet on Thursday, addressing the promotion of the #1 prospect in baseball, and what it could mean for Blue Jays fans this year and beyond.

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Of course, Wells understands the excitement for the fan base right now, but I’m sure that he (likely not so fondly) remembers the pressure that comes with expectations from Blue Jays’ fans. For those that don’t remember, Wells is still the owner of the biggest contract in franchise history. He signed a seven-year, 126 million dollar deal before the 2008 season began, and while he was arguably one of the best players in franchise history, many folks remember his contract as one of the worst dolled out in recent memory.

So when it comes to high hopes for the future, Wells could be considered a bit of an authority on what Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may endure as he begins his big league career, and also what the fans may expect of him, even at such a tender age.

It would appear that Wells is excited for the future of the Blue Jays as well, but he makes a couple of very important points in a limited number of characters. The first message is simple, “embrace him”.

Secondly, Wells states, “love him through the good and the bad”, which is a very important point to consider for Blue Jays fans, and anyone who is excited to watch the potential generational talent. The reality is, even if he poised to become one of the best hitters in the world, as many of us assume he will, he’s still going to fail. A lot.

That’s part of the process of being a big leaguer, and especially one who is learning the ropes of the game at the highest level. So far he’s had next to no difficulty traversing his way through the minor leagues, and carries a MiLB career average of .331 as he joins the big league roster. While it’s possible he could meet or beat those numbers, expecting him to do as much right out of the gate may be a little unfair, even for the son of a Hall of Famer.

Even the best players in the game “fail” in the batter’s box around 2/3’s of the time, and Vlad Jr. won’t be any different. Add the fact that his defensive game isn’t quite polished yet, and there are going to be some rough moments from time to time, and that’s okay.

Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that I’m expecting him to struggle, or that it will even take him long to become the best hitter in the Blue Jays’ lineup (if he isn’t already). But if he goes 0-4 in his first game, or makes a couple of defensive errors in his first week, don’t panic Blue Jays fans. It’s a process, and a 162 game season allows a lot of opportunity for learning and for growth, something even the top prospect in baseball still needs to go through.