The Top 25 MLB Players Under 25 Years Old

5. Bo Bichette, SS, Toronto Blue Jays
Baumann rank: 5
Kram rank: 5
Lindbergh rank: 5
Wagner rank: 5

He’s a very good hitter at a premium defensive position. Putting that bat in that lineup spot just makes him so valuable. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Bichette’s game. He’s pluses all around. —Kram

4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Baumann rank: 3
Kram rank: 4
Lindbergh rank: 4
Wagner rank: 4

The comp I keep drawing is Guerrero’s season now to Bryce Harper’s MVP year. These are the last two players that came up with that level of hype as a hitter. And Harper was a very good player at 19 and 20, and in his age-22 season he put together the 1941 Ted Williams year, adjusted for inflation. Guerrero might be the most talented hitter in the world right now. —Baumann

3-HR night for Vlad Jr? Even dad never did it!

The first act of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s breakout season officially has its trademark moment.

Guerrero launched three home runs against the Nationals on Tuesday night in Dunedin, Fla., single-handedly carrying the Blue Jays to a 9-5 win with the biggest night of his Major League career. The young star got it started in the third inning when he stepped in with the bases loaded against Max Scherzer for a battle of best on best.

Down three, a steep hill to climb against Scherzer, Guerrero launched the go-ahead grand slam deep over the left-field wall, turning on a hanging slider before holding his finish for a moment to admire his work.

Guerrero was tending to some family business, too. Last season, Scherzer struck out Guerrero just over a decade after he first struck out his father for the first time, becoming one of just nine pitchers to strike out both Guerrero’s. The grand slam put Scherzer on a shorter list, though, and one he doesn’t want to be on. Eleven years and four days ago, Guerrero Sr. launched a two-run shot off a 25-year-old Scherzer, who now joins Iván Nova as the only two pitchers to be taken deep by both father and son.

Slimmer Vlad a sight to see: ‘I feel quicker’

Best Shape of His Life.

Last July, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. arrived for Summer Camp in Toronto out of shape. He knew it, and his teammates knew it.

Not far removed from being baseball’s brightest prospect with generational potential, this was an early threat to the 21-year-old’s long-term success. Guerrero knew something had to change, so that’s when this all started.

From then to now, Guerrero has lost 42 pounds and transformed his body. His fitness has been the talk of camp through the early days in Dunedin, Fla., and Guerrero was introspective on Wednesday when he thought back to the summer of 2020.

“For the last couple years, they knew I was coming here out of shape. I didn’t prepare myself very well,” Guerrero said through a team interpreter. “I felt like, at that moment, my teammates needed an apology from me. I just talked to them for a while, and the good thing about that is that they accepted my apology. Right then, they talked to me, they motivated me. You know what? It’s in the past. Let’s start over again and start getting ready.”