Vlad Guerrero Jr. ‘pushing himself hard’ during offseason workouts

Blue Jays CEO Mark Shapiro told Toronto’s 590 The Fan this morning that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. “couldn’t be pushing himself harder” in offseason workouts. He’s apparently trying to trim down and strengthen that large-ish frame of his.

Touted as the top prospect in baseball, Guerrero hit .272/.339/.433 with 15 home runs and 69 RBI over his first 123 major league games and played a less-than-great third base. He’s obviously super talented and one strongly suspects that, even if he did not do anything to get in better shape, he’ll be an excellent hitter in the big leagues for a long time. His track record in the minors speaks for itself.

Still, baseball history is loaded with would-be studs who petered out early or never panned out entirely due to poor conditioning or what have you. Sounds like Vlad is determined not to have that happen to him, and that’s a good thing.

Rising sons give rebuilding Blue Jays reason for optimism

The Toronto Blue Jays feel good about four rising sons who made big strides in 2019 and figure to become lineup fixtures moving forward.

The pitching, however, remains a work in progress.

The Blue Jays went 67-95, six games worse than last year. It was Toronto’s first 90-loss season since 2004, and their poorest performance since a 95-loss showing in 1980.

One silver lining? Strong performances from four players with famous fathers, including two sons of Hall of Famers.

Austin Hays absolutely robs Blue Jays of back-to-back-to-back homers

The Toronto Blue Jays were on the cusp of quite the accomplishment Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles.

After Cavan Biggio and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. both slapped solo home runs to centre field before him in the top of the fourth inning, Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got all of a Gabriel Ynoa offering. It looked like he was going to give the Blue Jays back-to-back-to-back dingers and a 3-1 advantage.

That’s when Austin Hays showed up to make one of the season’s finest grabs.

The 24-year-old extended his arm well over the wall and brought the ball right back into the park before rightfully pounding his chest in celebration.

Absolutely, Mr. Gallagher?

Positively, Mr. Shean!

MLB’s First-Year Stars Are Historically Great This Season

As happened with NFL quarterbacks and pro tennis players, the traditional learning curve for Major League Baseball hitters has been re-drawn, if not outright obliterated. Apprenticeships no longer are required.

For a second consecutive year, first-year players are dominating baseball in numbers like we’ve never seen before. In the footsteps of Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr., Gleyber Torres, Shohei Ohtani and others last season, Pete Alonso, Yordan Alvarez, Vlad Guerrero Jr., Eloy Jimenez, Fernando Tatis Jr. and their fellow freshmen are blowing up the idea that young hitters can’t be trusted until they are allowed time and reps to adjust to big league pitching. This is the era of Plug-and-Play Superstars.

Until last season, there had never been a season in which more than five first-year players hit 15 home runs. Then seven freshmen did so last year. And so far this season, 10 can claim the Freshman 15.

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Set aside for now the more aerodynamic baseball, which this season is inflating home run numbers. This young hitters trend began a few years ago and has just exploded this year. The game is getting younger because the numbers show young hitters can be trusted–in many cases, more than older players.

So, how much do we buy this particular argument, and, if not, where do we see issues?

NYTimes: Abuela, Chef, Boss: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s Grandmother Feeds the Majors

The brown sugar bubbled in the pan. The marinated goat meat sizzled when added. Spoonfuls of olives and capers were heaped into the mixture. Then Altagracia Alvino, who can make this dish with her eyes closed, froze.

“Did I put spice in here?” she whispered to herself in Spanish.

Alvino, 66, was careful to make as little noise as possible because it was 7:22 a.m., and her husband and her 20-year-old grandson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., one of baseball’s brightest young stars, were asleep in their rooms of the family’s Toronto apartment. The familiar scent of cooking meat was unavoidable, though.

Silver hair in a net, Alvino leaned in to inspect the meat, decided it indeed lacked kick and reached for a package of crushed red pepper. She had plenty of time to perfect the feast of white rice, stewed beans and goat before Guerrero awakened at 11 a.m. and quickly departed for Rogers Centre, carrying bags of the food to share with both his Blue Jays teammates and their opponents.

Alvino may be the most popular and powerful grandmother in baseball. For about two decades, she has filled the bellies of hundreds of players, most of them Latin Americans far from home. Eating her comfort food is a tradition that has become especially popular among players from the family’s homeland, the Dominican Republic.

A few have come to call Alvino “abuela,” or Grandma, yet most have never met her. She was there for every step in the career of her son Vladimir Guerrero Sr., who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame last year, and now she oversees his son’s.

I knew that Vlad Sr. had lived with his mom for a long while in Montreal, but I had no clue she cooked for so much of the major leagues!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to undergo MRI after leaving game vs. Mariners

Toronto Blue Jays rookie sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will undergo an MRI after leaving Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Charlie Montoyo revealed to reporters post-game.

“He felt a little tweak in his knee so we took him out just in case. So he’s going to get an MRI to make sure he’s fine. I’ll know more about it tomorrow,” Montoyo said.

Montoyo added that he would pull anyone that complains about an injury as a precautionary measure, especially considering where the team is at this juncture of the season.

I have to wonder- is it his build that seems to be making him susceptible to injury, or something else?

Pete Alonso wins 2019 Home Run Derby | MLB.com

They finally have the format right. Very entertaining!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to Participate in Home Run Derby

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will follow in his father’s footsteps and participate in the Home Run Derby next month in Cleveland, MLB Network’s Hazel Mae reports.

The Blue Jays’ rookie third baseman is the son of Hall of Fame outfielder Vlad Sr., who played for the Montreal Expos for the first eight years of his 16-year MLB career. The senior Guerrero won the 2007 Derby at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Guerrero Jr. has hit seven homers since the 20-year-old made his highly-anticipated MLB debut in April. He is batting .249 with 17 runs. He was ranked the No. 1 prospect in Major League Baseball before his debut and has been a spectacle all season since his first at-bat.