Toronto Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is Heating Up

In the 2021 season, we saw the “Trailer” to Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s career as he put it during Spring Training.  Guerrero had an outstanding season with the Blue Jays that saw him lead the league in several offensive categories which resulted in a Silver Slugger Award, the Hank Aaron Award, along with finishing second in AL-MVP voting.  He did this all while playing the season as a 22-year-old and has had fans excited about what he is to bring, especially since he finished off his quote by saying this season would be the “Movie”.

Unfortunately, Guerrero’s season had not started off quite as hot as many had hoped; and with his confidence, I believe he would likely say he was disappointed in the early results.

At the end of May, Guerrero posted a slash line of only .249/.342/.438 and just 14 extra-base hits (nine home runs) through 47 games.  As a comparison to his 2021 season, through his first 47 games of the season, Guerrero had a batting average that was 88 points higher and he boasted a slash line of .337/.447/.647, along with 26 extra-base hits (16 home runs).

However, since the calendar turned to June, Guerrero has provided a small glimpse of what he did in 2021.  Through June 17, Guerrero has started all 16 games in the month and has gone 21 for 67 (.313) with 10 extra-base hits (seven home runs) and is averaging an RBI per game.  Guerrero has collected hits in 13 of the 15 games, along with an extra-base hit in all but six games.  During the month, he has also had one three-hit game and one four-hit game.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr had a slow start to the 2022 MLB season but has started to catch fire for the Blue Jays since the calendar turned over to June.

At the conclusion of the 2021 season, Guerrero finished with 48 home runs, which was the second-highest in franchise history.  Many fans hoped this season he could become the first player since Jose Bautista in 2010 to reach to the 50-home run mark.  Guerrero is currently four home runs off of last year’s pace, so it isn’t impossible for the power-hitting first baseman to reach that mark if he can continue to hit the long ball.

With Guerrero now catching fire, do you think he is just on a hot stretch or does his 2021 season tell you that this is more of what he is and he just started slow?  How many home runs do you think Guerrero will finish the season with?