Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s hot streak can't be ignored any longer

For some, it might've taken some convincing at first, but there's no doubt about it now: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is back.

After a monstrous 2021 campaign in which he was likely the best baseball player on the planet not named Shohei Ohtani, fans have been waiting for Guerrero to return to that form again, and he's never been closer than he is right now.

On the season, the first basemen is hitting .281 with a .370 OBP and a .778 OPS, but the numbers get even more impressive when you zero in on the last thirty games. Over that span, the Montreal native is slashing .316/.400/.447 with 14 RBI, 16 walks and 36 hits.

Guerrero's season has been impressive -- he's hitting for a high average, he's walking at a great clip, and his defence has been much better than last year, but there's something about this season compared to his 2021 season -- a very clear lack of power. Here we are, almost in mid June, and Guerrero currently only has seven home runs on the season. Now, the Blue Jays will certainly take his base hits, but I'm sure they also wouldn't complain if his hits started to leave the ballpark more frequently.

His season becomes even more impressive when you take a look at his Baseball Savant page. His average exit velocity is in the 98th percentile, his bat speed is in the 94th percentile, his hard hit percentage in the 99th, his walk percentage in the 87th, and his xBA (expected batting average) in the 94th percentile.

Coming into the season, many people likely would have agreed that this was a make or break season for Guerrero. Just a few years ago, he was seen as the franchise's saviour and this teams cornerstone, but he had many people questioning whether that was true or not the past couple of years.

Now, there's no question about it: he belongs here. Guerrero was held out of Wednesday's starting lineup, which was the first time all season he wasn't in the club's starting-nine. His durability has been excellent and the results on the field have reflected that, too. While at one point the question was whether Bo Bichette or Guerrero should be locked up first, Vladdy's performance out of the gate this year has seemingly answered that question in a big way.