Vlad Jr.: 'Great to be a part' of Derby
Alexis Brudnicki
TORONTO -- Every time Vladimir Guerrero Jr. steps up to the plate, he brings a sense of excitement with him to the batter’s box.
In his rookie season in the Majors, the 20-year-old phenom will get a chance to share that excitement with all those in attendance in Cleveland for the All-Star Game festivities, when he represents the Blue Jays in his first Home Run Derby, taking place tonight.
Guerrero (No. 8 seed) is set to become the youngest participant in the history of the event, and will take on A's All-Star Matt Chapman -- who steps in for reigning National League MVP Award winner Christian Yelich, who has a back injury -- in the first round.
“It feels great to be a part of it,” Guerrero said through team interpreter Hector Lebron. “I’m just going to go out there and compete. I’m going to do my best and hopefully I’ll win it. … I’m trying to enjoy the moment and just have fun, not worry about [who I’m up against]. Whatever happens, it happens, but I’m going to do the best I can.”
Guerrero will be 20 years, 114 days old for the Derby, 116 days younger than Ken Griffey Jr. was for the 1990 showcase. Bryce Harper is the only other 20-year-old to participate in the Derby.
As the comparisons of similarities and differences he has to his father continue to be made, Guerrero will follow in his dad’s footsteps once more after he watched him win the Home Run Derby as an 8-year-old.
“I remember it, in 2007 -- I remember my dad actually winning the Derby,” Guerrero said. “He was in the final with Alex Rios, who was with the Blue Jays at that time.”
The last slugging contest the young Guerrero participated in took place in Midland, Mich., when the third baseman represented the Lansing Lugnuts in the 2017 Midwest League All-Star Game and at the respective Home Run Derby. He finished second to Carlos Rincon, but he put on an impressive display of power throughout the event.
“There, definitely my family, the support of my family really kept me going,” Guerrero said. “This time, they’re going to help get me through too.”
Bo Bichette, Toronto’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, had a front-row seat to watch Guerrero in that Midwest League Derby, sidelined from participating himself because of a back issue, and he can’t wait to see his friend and teammate get a chance to do the same at the highest level.
“To make those kinds of events popular, you’ve got to have people who can hit the ball really far,” Bichette said. “Just like in a dunk contest, you’ve got to get people who can jump really high. And he can hit it just as far as anybody, maybe further. I know he hits it harder than anybody, so an opportunity to do that in the big leagues is a really cool thing to see.”
Guerrero was promoted to Class A Advanced Dunedin immediately after that MWL All-Star Game, and he showed none of the effects some teams consider worrisome after seeing a slugger participate in an event focused on one swing only -- the home run swing.
“This game is so important to us, every aspect of it,” Toronto’s general manager Ross Atkins said. “Being open-minded to celebrating it in any way is so important to us, but we also want to make sure that we prepare our individuals for the risk and potential downside.”
Following that experience two years ago, Guerrero finished the 2017 season in the Florida State League, hitting .333/.450/.494 in 48 games and helping his team to a championship.
“I think it was a few years ago when some guys were talking about it ruining their swings, but Vladdy can do that,” said John Schneider, Dunedin’s manager in 2017 and currently a Major League coach on Toronto’s staff. “In batting practice, he doesn’t try to hit homers, he just does.
“Then he’ll take a couple rounds where he’s trying to, so it’s not the typical 'geared for a Home Run Derby' swing, like Ken Griffey Jr. or somebody, but he’s going to do well. He’s always done well in events like that, so it won’t affect him.”
Guerrero will bring Schneider with him to Cleveland to throw to him in the Home Run Derby at Progressive Field. Schneider managed Guerrero in Dunedin and New Hampshire -- both championship-winning teams -- before joining the big league staff with the Blue Jays ahead of this season.
“It’s humbling that he asked me,” Schneider said. “It’s something we joked about a few years ago in the Minor Leagues, and I’ve been throwing to him the last couple of years, so he’s used to me. He’s hit plenty of homers off me in [batting practice], so it’s cool for me to do and experience a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and hopefully he wins the whole thing and has a blast doing it.”
Schneider and Guerrero got their first round of Derby practice in on Tuesday at Rogers Centre, which “felt great, but of course it’s not the same,” Guerrero said. He’s looking forward to having the added adrenaline from the fans at Progressive Field, and he is already impressed by the support he’s seen and felt.
“It feels unbelievable,” he said. “It gives you a lot of confidence to go out there and just do my job, and know there are so many people behind me.”