MLB Network ranks Vladdy top ten, and see an even bigger future ahead

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is glistening as the face of the Toronto Blue Jays while making that 14-year $500 million contract extension look like a great move thus far.

After a postseason that exemplified both his reputation and the Blue Jays’ October identity all together, Vladdy Jr. has firmly re-established himself among baseball’s elite. MLB Network ranked Guerrero No. 10 on its Top 100 Players Right Now list, placing him one spot behind Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Postseason dominance propels Guerrero into baseball’s elite

Guerrero’s regular season was solid but quieter than the MVP-caliber campaigns fans had grown accustomed to earlier in his career. He finished out his regular season slashing .292/.381/.467 and a .848 OPS along with 23 homers. The power numbers dipped slightly, and stretches of inconsistency led to questions about whether he was fully capable of carrying an offense over a full year. What followed in October, however, erased any doubt that fans may have had.

Across 18 postseason games in 2025, Guerrero came out with one of the most dominant playoff performances in MLB history. He hit .397 with eight home runs, 15 RBIs, and an eye-opening 1.289 OPS, reaching base 44 times, a new single-postseason record. Guerrero’s command of the strike zone was especially notable, walking twice as often as he struck out, forcing teams to pitch to him on in the game’s biggest moments, much to their demise.

His performance in the ALDS versus the New York Yankees was especially striking, getting a hit in nine of his 17 plate appearances while driving in 9 runs and hitting three homers.

No player in baseball elevated his profile more than Vladdy did this year, as he delivered in every series, producing momentum-shifting swings and countless at-bats that defined the Blue Jays' playoff run. Much of that success traced back to his ability to spray anything on the outside of the plate while bringing his hands in and pulling inside pitches, allowing him to be one of the hardest outs in the game. The result? A chase rate and strikeout rate in the league's 90th percentile.

That ability proved critical in the postseason, allowing him to neutralize high velocity pitches and use his 99th percentile bat speed to punish mistakes, regardless of location. Once the power resurfaced in October, it came with an elite level of consistency.

Guerrero’s dominance drew widespread praise from MLB Network analysts who suggested that his ranking could climb even higher. The sentiment was that if he carries this approach into the following season, he could easily find himself inside the top five players in baseball by this time next year.

At just 26-years-old, Guerrero remains firmly in his prime, combining elite bat-to-ball ability, improving plate discipline, and absurd power in the heart of Toronto’s lineup. That blend has already begun to justify the Blue Jays’ massive investment.

His spot as MLB's 10th-best player feels more like a small milestone than a ceiling. After lighting up the league this October, it’s clear that he’s positioning to be in conversations with the best players in baseball for a long time.