Vladimir Guerrero Jr. makes a bold claim that's sure to ruffle some feathers

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is never bashful about pumping his own tires. The Toronto Blue Jays corner infielder has always had the swagger to back up his big bat, even when he wasn't exactly walking the walk.

But now that he's back to being one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball, playing at an MVP level again, he's talking the talk. again.

According to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, Guerrero said earlier in August that he considers himself the best in the world.

"In my mind, I'm the best in the world," Guerrero said, per Gonzalez.

The 25-year-old slugger didn't even qualify his statement. He didn't say "one of the best" or "among the best" or "right now." He said "the best."

That's how confident he is right now. His numbers give him a leg to stand on, even if his bold claim is sure to create some blowback from across the league.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s bold claim is sure to ruffle some feathers

Blue Jays fans who have watched Guerrero all season and through the ups and downs of his career will tell you that he's unstoppable when he's locked in at the plate. He sure looks like he could be the best hitter on the planet during these stretches — and he has been locked in a lot this season.

There's also a myriad of baseball observers, both general pundits and fans of other teams, who will argue that there are other players more deserving of the title of "best in the world."

But it's a short list of players across the majors who are actually worthy of the title.

Shohei Ohtani pops to mind. The baseball unicorn is destroying the National League in his first tour of the Senior Circuit with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Already past the 40-40 threshold, he's seemingly locked in to win his third MVP award despite only being a designated hitter this season while recovering from elbow surgery.

There's also that Aaron Judge fellow sitting up the AL East standings. He already has 51 home runs before Labor Day, and at the pace he's going, he could easily have another couple before the proverbial ink dries on this sentence.

And you can't forget about his New York Yankees teammate, Juan Soto, who has been casually referred to as a generational hitter for years now. He's putting on a show this season for fans in the Bronx, hitting .299 with a 1.034 OPS and 37 home runs of his own.

Guerrero has made up a lot of ground in the race to named the best hitter in baseball

Despite not having the season-long stats to match these top hitters, Guerrero has made up incredible ground after a halted start to his months-long hot streak. Heading into Monday's games against the Boston Red Sox, Guerrero was batting .320/.396/.557 with 27 homers and 85 RBI on a Blue Jays team that has had a hard time at the plate for much of the season.

Guerrero currently ranks fifth with 167 wRC+ on the season, despite being nowhere close to the top of the leaderboard at the end of May. He ranked 23rd on May 31, behind teammate Davis Schneider.

Since June 19, the infamous day that he cut his hair and found his power stroke again, Guerrero ranks second behind Judge with 226 wRC+. The Yankees slugger is well ahead, however, with 256 wRC+. The rest of the top five include Bobby Witt Jr. (207 wRC+), Soto (191) and Yordan Alvarez (188). Ohtani is eighth (165).

In a vacuum, Guerrero can compete with all of these players for the title of best in the world. At least, he thinks so, anyway.