The Toronto Blue Jays boast one of the top lineups in Major League Baseball, ranking in numerous offensive categories such as:
First: AVG (.265)
Third: OPS (.764) / RBI (516)
Fourth: SLG (.436) / OBP (.328)
Sixth: HR (143)
One player who really adds some pop to the lineup is Vladimir Guerrero Jr., one of the best young offensive talents in the game right now.
At just 23 years old, Guerrero Jr. continues to impress, finishing second in AL MVP voting last season while finishing tied for the league lead in home runs (48) while leading the American League in OBP (.401), SLG (.601), and OPS (1.002). Had it not been for two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Jays slugger would have walked away with the MVP trophy to go along with his Silver Slugger Award.
Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 20 games after a single in last night’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
This season, Guerrero Jr. is a step behind the MVP campaign of last season but is still putting up solid numbers, boasting a .287/.359/.504 slash line through 421 at-bats with 23 home runs, 68 RBI, and a .863 OPS. He is fifth in the AL with 121 hits (two behind the AL-leading 123 hits) and fifth in RBI. Guerrero Jr. also leads the team in SLG, HR, OPS, and RBI while sitting in the 99th percentile in Max Exit Velocity and 98th percentile in Hard Hitting %. This is also after going through a moderate slump back in May.
Last night, Guerrero Jr. also collected a single in the top of the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, becoming the 15th player in Blue Jays history to accomplish the feat. Over the past 15 games, the righty slugger owns a .371/.426/.613 slash line with three home runs and nine RBI with four stolen bases.
Considering the Blue Jays have quite a few games remaining against their AL East rivals and the Baltimore Orioles finding ways to win ballgames, the club needs to continue playing well and getting solid outputs from their top players like Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Bo Bichette, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr if they want to make the postseason.